Duality
by ClockedStop
Summary: They are together but alone, they were two halves of one whole, yet they were polar opposites. Complimenting each other and clashing with each other. After ten years of their parents' death they return to the city they called home, to the city where they first saw death. P3P MC & FeMC with a few other twists and turns. I don't own P3P.
1. First Contact

I wanted to try writing a fic with both protagonists in P3/P, as: it's an interesting concept having both of them in the story, and there's plenty of little things you can add in really that can change the story from the in-game one. Another note about this is that, though I based majority of this off P3P I took some aspects from the original P3 that was taken out of P3P.  
I'm not 100% sure about the pairings just yet, but I'll eventually get there.

Along with I'm sorry if there's any mistakes. (I make sure to check over multiple times so please if there's a mistake I missed do mention it, it's very appreciated! English isn't exactly my forte aha...)

Please enjoy!

**Edit:** Going through and editing/changing/adding some things, it's not changing the plot though just touching up on the chapters after finding some errors that irked me.

* * *

**Chapter 1: First Contact**

4/6

A butterfly that gleamed blue; a blue that was deep as one's soul. Fluttered gracefully close by the speeding train, keeping up with the train effortlessly.  
It danced gracefully by a window with two sets of eyes on it.  
One had eyes that were red like a blazing flame, they burned with life yet held dead ashes that could frighten even the girl who bared them and could easily warm her like a blanket. The other had silvery-blue eyes like cold ice, that would could freeze one with just one glance. They were glazed with a hard layer of cold bitter sadness and grief, freezing his gaze to something that was lifeless.  
Yet his eyes melted instantly towards the girl who held eyes that burned with fire.

The girl rested on top of her knees, staring with wonder at the blue bug, while the other slouched on his seat but had his head was turned slight so that he could glance coolly over as well.

These two were an odd pair, they were always together yet alone.  
Two who were alone yet not alone.

They were two halves of a whole, yet polar opposites.  
Complementing each other with the girl's bright red orbs to the boy's dull blue.  
Yet clashed violently with each other with the boy's lifeless movement to the girl's energetic ones.

The blue butterfly fluttered in the air, next to the rushing train. It twirled in the air, mesmerizes the two.

A soft kind but strong voice echoed within their minds and hearts.

_Time never waits.  
It delivers all equally to the same end._

_You, who wish to safeguard the future, however limited it may be..._

_You will be given one year;_

_go forth without falter, with your heart as your guide..._

I blink a few times before rubbing my eyes, checking that I'm not sleeping with my eyes open and seeing things.

But when I look back to the window, the blue bug that was just fluttering outside was gone.

"Nee-san..." a low voice mumbles beside me, I turn my head to look at my twin brother, Minato.

"Sit." he mutters and motions me to sit properly instead of being propped on my knees on the seat. I fidget about, doing as he says and sit down properly on the train's seat. I glance over his face and look at his silvery eyes, or rather eye as his blue fringe covered part of his right eye from being seen properly.

"Did you...?" I quietly look at him while fidgeting to see his response, which was a simple nod. I look over my shoulder towards the window, quietly mumbling my thoughts "That's kinda creepy..."

He shrugs queitly in response, he slips one of his blue-silvery headphones on a ear. I could faintly hear his music playing, it was Burn My Dread. I giggle softly, I swore he was always listening to that.

We soon hear the train's conductor buzz in to make an announcement: "-_Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered. We apologize to any customers who were in a hurry._-"

_"Well gee, that's great."_ I think while rolling my eyes a little annoyed, I look over to Minato his face is stoic like always but I could tell he was irritated. He puts on one of his blue-silvery headphones and passes me the other to kill the time as we wait for our stop.

Really listens to Burn My Dread too much, not that I can say anything; as I do the same.

x

"-_The next stop is Iwatodai..._-"

"O-oh! Ni-chan that's us!" I nudge at my brother and grab my bag, Minato groggily complies grabbing his own bag with his headphones hanging around his neck and we make our way out to the station. As we head out of the doors of the train, another announcement goes off: "-_This is the final train bound for Tatsumi Port Island. Please take care to board before our departure._-"

We pay no mind and walk through the station, at the exit there's a large hand-clock above the step of a large stairwell.

I get anxious, it was almost midnight.

Meaning that it was almost _that _time.

I take a step closer to Minato who held his arm open for me to take, which I hugged onto gratefully.

"...How far is the dorms?" Minato asks me, I frown more and remember the details of the pamphlet and map.

"Should have made it closer..." I mumble shifting on my feet, I feel brother's hand patting me gently on the head. I look up at him and he has a small comforting smile on his lips.

"Don't worry alright? I'm here with you Minako, it'll be okay." he says it with a warm smile and I can feel myself ease down and smile back at him.

Though that didn't stop me from pressing my chest on his arm to comfort myself for what was about to happen.

We make our way out of the station, as it hits midnight.

*"*"*

Dark Hour

I feel my sister tense up and squeeze my arm tightly as we watch the night sky shift into into a eerie green, the city streets become soaked with green light and the smell of blood, littered with coffins that were once people.

I look down to my twin sister, as she looks up to me with her shivering blood-crimson eyes, using her free hand she played nervously with her auburn hair that was in a high ponytail. The silver hair-clip that laid out XXII, number twenty-two in roman was shining in the green light.  
I give her a reassuring smile, nudging her forward with me as we continue to make our way through the dead silent streets.

This time, this green night would always happen when it turned midnight. No matter where we were the world around us would always become flooded with a dark green light, while what were puddles of normal water became puddles of blood, and then people and animals would become things that reeked death; coffins.

It was a hard thing to get used to when we were younger, but we manage to get used to it over time. Though Minako still had trouble moving around during this time as the coffins and blood would always frighten her.

I can't blame her, she was suffering from necrophobia and slowly recovering from thanatophobia; the fear of death and the dead.

Even if she had amnesia that stripped her of her memories of our parents, the accident, of everything ten years ago; her heart must still remember the corpses of our parents and the disgusting odor of blood from the night of the accident.

"Wow!" My thoughts get interrupted as I hear my sister gasp, I look down over to her. Her red eyes were fixed upwards in the green night sky, more specifically on the gigantic green-yellow moon.

"It's gorgeous..." she whispers mesmerized by the moon's figure, "It was never this big where we lived before or anywhere!" I give a quiet nod in agreement, the moon during this time would always be bathed in the same green light but Minako seemed to like it a lot and it was true, the giant green moon though eerie was quite stunning.

"I bet it would look even more pretty if it were a full moon!" my sister giggles happily face me with a wide grin.

I smile in return.

"Nee-san, we should get going."

x

*"*"*

Finally after wandering around the area, we stood in front of the dorm that was mention is our admission pamphlet: Gekkoukan High School, Iwatodai Dorm. We were temporary assigned here as a last minute arrangement from what I heard, nevertheless we were finally here.

"Ugh," I groan, "I'm so tired... This is why we should have arrived... Um, maybe not the day before school?" I release Minato's arm and give a stern look, which he merely shrugs off.

"Not my fault they gave us the wrong tickets." he reaches out to the door a moment later I stop him.

"W-what if there's coff-I mean people in there?" I stutter worried to brother.

Minato merely shrugs in response, and goes ahead and opens the door.

_"I'm taking that as 'I don't know just go in already' then..."_ I sigh and hesitantly follow.

When we walked in, we get startled by something we would last expect: A voice.

*"*"*

"Welcome."

I turn to the left and see a young boy with short black hair and unnatural bright blue eyes with something that seemed to be a beauty mark under his right. His clothes were odd though he stood behind the counter and I could only see his shoulders and his sleeves, he was wearing something that was or resembled a prison inmate's uniform. Simple black and white stripes that over his pale skin.

I put my guard up. _"Why was there a child in a high school dorm?"_

"You're late." the child continues with a eerie smile, "I've been waiting a long time."

His voice sent chills down my spine, I wasn't sure why though but the next thing the kid does was place a piece of paper on the table and slide it closer to me and my sister.

I look at my sister, her face was puzzled but she timidly stepped a closer to the counter. Most likely out of curiosity of both the boy (as it was the first we saw someone not in a coffin in this time) and of the piece of paper that he placed down.

He smiled at her, "If you want to proceed, then please sign here." He points down on the paper with one of his small fingers, "It's a contract."

_"Contract?"_ I question in my head, _"For what?"_

Before I could voice my question which Minako was probably wondering as well, the boy smiles at us and as if he could read minds and speaks up again.

"There's no need to be scared. It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions."

Again I felt my body tremble slightly, unsettled by the child in front of us. I take a look at my sister again, she took another step closer to look at the piece of paper the boy called a contract. I come closer too and look over the so-called contract and it read as:

_We, _ & _ chooseth this fate of our own free will._

There were two blanks, where we would have to sign I suppose.

"Dorm contract...?" Minako doesn't look at me but I could tell she was asking me. I couldn't answer, it was too strange for me to piece together. She thinks for another moment before shrugging and grabbing a pen to scribble down her name on one of the spaces.

She handed the pen to me after, shrugging again.

Not thinking about how suspicious this or the kid was.

I sigh, giving in and take the pen signing my name next to hers.

_We,_ Minako Arisato_ &_ Minato Arisato _chooseth this fate of our own free will._

The boy looks at us and smiles again, "...Very well." he takes the contract before his smile drops and he speaks again with a somewhat dreary tone under his childish voice, "Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end."

The boy's body seems to slowly fade into the dark as he continues, "Wishing won't make it go away. And so," he smiles again while looking at us, "it begins..."

He vanishes completely, as if he was never there to begin with.

"...That was..." Minako fumbles with her words, with a puzzled and frightened face.

"Different...?" I ask looking at her, she looks back at me and nods in a silent agreement.

Another voice startles us in our silence, the voice was a female and she shouted out in a panic.

"...Who's there!?"


	2. Caution

When there's a *"*"* that shall signal p.o.v change, x's for short time lapses, o's are flashbacks/future events. I didn't realize that asterisks didn't show up by itself.

Anyway same as before please mention any errors I may have missed and please do enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2: Caution**

"...Who's there!?"

We turned to see yet another person who wasn't turned into a coffin, a girl.

"How can you be... But it's...!" the girl gasped as if we weren't meant to be here, which put me on edge.

I quickly scanned what I could see in the dark green light. The girl was about our age, maybe a little shorter than Minako; she had light brown hair waved to one side while the her bangs waved to the other, brown eyes with panic swimming in them. She wore a choker on her neck, pink sweater, some sort of red armband on her arm, a black mini-skirt-

My eyes stop and focus on her waist, when I see the holster hung around it it.

Immediately I shove my sister behind me and stand protectively in front of her, warily focusing on the brunette.

Or more rather what was hanging on her waist.

A gun.

From what I could see it looked to be a simple silver pistol. Whether it was real or not didn't matter, all I knew was I couldn't put my guard down.

It was still the green night, as the lights were still off and there was the dark green light that bathed the room; making it difficult to move and see. Then there was the unnatural panic on the girl's face, making her being in possession of a gun; an infinite times more worse in my eyes.

I stay stoic and on guard, I put my arm out to signal not to move to my sister. I deadpan a flat hard gaze focusing on the other girl's face, ready to react to any threatening movement.

Before I opened my lips to warn the girl off, the girl's frantic face still full of fear was flooded with suspicion and her voice still shaky was wary of us.

"Don't tell me..."

She does what I dread, and was reaching for her side: for the gun. I was ready to sprint straight into the girl but then another voice called out.

"Wait!"

It was as if the world was being commanded, the green night ended.

The world shifted to it's usual state, the eerie green vanished, the smell of blood dissipated as if it were never there and the dorm lights flooded the entrance, I could see the relief wash over the brunette's face.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late." cautiously I glanced to the right. There was another girl who had long dark red curls with a fringe similar to my own that covered part of her left eye, she wore what I believed was the uniform of the school we were transferred to only there was no jacket and she had a red armband which I could now see had S.E.E.S printed on it. I took note of her beauty and icy aura that Minako would probably compare to some queen in a fairy tale but what really caught my eye was what she had hanging on her waist: another gun.

I kept my guard up, I could relax even if the green night was over but then I felt a pair of arms and a head latched on my arm. I turned to see Minako glancing between the two girls. She paused at the red-head before speaking up.

"U-um, excuse me..." her words squeaked as she addressed the red-head, "A-are you by chance... Mitsuru Kirijo...?"

_"Who."_ I look questionably at my sister, she sees this and flashes a rather displeased or disappointed frown.

"...From the Kirijo family that owns the school..." Minako quietly states but with some hesitation to make it seem like a question, it was more of a signal to me. Something along the lines of _Ni-chan back down don't make this anymore awkward!_ or _Ni-chan keep glaring at them like that I'll strangle you!_  
Actually it was probably both, I make a breathless sigh and ease a bit. Though I keep a protective guard on my sister, still wary of two people with guns, students or not they were still armed.

The red-head, that Minako addressed as Kirijo seemed to be rather surprised. With a rather pleased smile on her lips before she answers.

"Yes, I'm Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm." she glances over Minako, "I see you're well informed."

Sister flushes and buries her face into my arm, unconsciously she takes a step closer behind me. I nearly let my guard soften to smile at how cute she is.

"...Who're they?" I glance back to the brunette, she's looking at us as if that whole frantic episode didn't happen. I return to my stoic face, rather annoyed feelings bubbling underneath.

"They're transfer students," Kirijo answers the brunette as she puts a rather stoic-looking smile on, "It was a last minute decision to assign them here. They'll eventually be moved to rooms in the normal dorms."

The brunette doesn't grow any less wary of us, but worry seemed to flush over her face.

"...Is it okay for them to be here?"

To that Kirijo merely smiles, "I guess we'll see." she gestures her hand towards the brunette before adding, "This is Yukari Takeba, she'll be a junior this spring just like you two."

Takeba as she was introduced gave a weak smile, "...Hi, I'm Yukari Takeba."

I don't bother to respond, and Minako lifts her face off my arm to look at Takeba she gave a worried smile but tried to make her voice not shake.

"...I'm Minako and this is," she quietly points at me before continuing, "Minato... We're twins." her voice dies out after saying my name, making the last part almost inaudible. She fidgets and fiddles with one of her red headphones, looking sheepishly at the sliver guns that still hung on the two girls' waists.

I decide to voice sis' thoughts.

"Why do you have a gun." I spit out, Takeba flinches but Kirijo stays composed.

"Um, well," she fumbles with her words trying to think of an excuse or rather a lie, "it's sorta like a hobby...Well not a hobby, but..."  
Takeba quickly glances at Kirijo giving her a pleading look for help.

"Well you know how it is these days. It's for self-defense." the senior gave a light chuckle, "It's not a real gun, of course."

"Isn't that even more dangerous..." I hear sis whisper under her breath, she's clearly bothered being a dorm with two students that carry around fake guns in the middle of the night. I shrug in response, might have bought the story.

If we were idiots, or painfully naive.

Not only that the next thing Kirijo does only adds to my suspicion, she makes it seem natural but the way she _suggested_ to tuck in for the night made me think she was hiding something.

Really suspicious.

Takeba leads us to our room which was on the second floor on the furthest room at the end of the hall.

"This is it..." she forces a laugh out, "Pretty easy to remember, huh? ...Since it's right at the end of the hall."

Sis timidly nods.

"Anyway, sorry about making you two share a room. It wasn't arranged for two rooms to be prepared, and there wasn't that much stuff sent down so just sorta figured..."

"Oh," Minako flashes a small smile, "That was my request, I can't sleep without being with Ni-chan so when I found out we were in the same dorm I asked if we could share a room for even just a while!"

"Um..." Takeba makes a small frown but moves on, "So, any questions?"

I look at Minako, we both shake our heads. There was no point asking questions to people who were suspicious in our eyes, so no point in asking her about the kid or contract.

"Um... Can I ask you something then?" Takeba looks a bit more serious and looks at us both, "On your way here from the station was everything okay?"

"Yup!" Minako answers right away with an unnatural cheery smile, "It was just really dark but hey that's night time for ya! Anyway I'm suuuuuper tired so is it alright if we head to bed now?"

She forces out a happy giggle, trying to get the other to leave. I could see how uncomfortable she felt with Takeba.

"Um, alright then..." Takeba seemed to be taken aback but shrugged it off, "Well, I better get going... Good night."

I open the door, letting Minako enter the room first. She drops her bag down, walking over to the large king-sized bed to collapse in its blue sheets.

_"She must be really tired."_ I think, I put my own bag down and make sure to lock the door before walking over the bed as well.

I smile, moving over to her so I could lift her up. Getting ready for bed as she was too stressed and drowsy to do it herself. I tug lightly on her barrettes to let her hair down along with remove her shoes and headphones, and pull her ribbon and jacket off. I pulled the sheets down, to lie her down underneath.

Before long she quietly snoring under the blue checkered blanket, I start to get ready for bed too and go under the sheets beside her.

Quietly I whisper her a good night and kiss lightly on the forehead.

x

*"*"*

4/7

I grumble a bit, when I hear someone's loud knocking on the door.

"It's Yukari. Are you awake?"

_"I am now."_ I mentally curse and roll out of bed to open the door for Yukari, I try to rub the sleepiness in my eyes out.

"Good morning," I hear Yukari's cheery voice, "Did you sleep okay?"

I look over to the bed, brother was still sleeping even with this noise. I'm envious of how Minato could sleep so soundly all the time, but also hate it cause it's always so hard to wake him up. Unlike me a light-sleeper who wakes up to even someone casually talking nearby, I guess we're just extreme polar opposites... I shrug and walk over to Minato.

"Ni-chan sure is, hang on lemme just wake him up first..." I bend down to be eye level with brother.

I nudge him, no response.

"Ni-chan come on wake up!" I get a grunt as an answer and sigh.

"Onii-chan will you pretty please wake up?" I give a small kiss on his cheek, I was pretty sure Yukari can't see from that angle seeing as I was already close to brother's face. Brother drowsily opens his eyes and looks at me.

"Mmhm..."

"Why do you always wake up when I do that- never mind don't answer."

I stand up and face Yukari, "So is there something you need?"

"Oh, Mitsuru-senpai asked me to you to school. Just come downstairs when you're ready alright?" I nod and Yukari turns to go downstairs.

I look back over brother and shove him off the bed.

Precaution, in case he decides to fall asleep again.

x

We arrive at Gekkoukan High, Yukari ends up just walking us to the main lobby and telling us the directions to the Faculty Office. Though she did ask one thing: don't mention anything about last night.  
Both of us didn't want to mention how big of a deal she was making it, or how her wording was... Easily misinterpreted even I could see it.

Minato shrugs at me, I hope that she doesn't mention it later in those exact words.

Brother and I make our way to the Faculty Office there we were greeted by our homeroom teacher; the composition teacher Ms. Toriumi.  
She was nice in my opinion, but the way she handled looking over our records could have gone better. I mean it wasn't the first time someone had that reaction learning about the accident ten years ago, when our parents died.

_Our dead parents..._

It was a scary thing to think about for me, even though Minato was able to remember what happened and I wasn't.

When we woke up in the hospital after the accident, I had no clues to who I was or who brother was.

I still feel awful about thinking of my own twin brother as a stranger, despite all he's done for me since.

It was cause of me we stayed in the hospital for a few years, as the doctors needed to keep me in check. As according to them due to shock I became amnesiac, but my body still felt the terror of the accident. Getting me diagnosed with necrophobia, an unnatural fear of anything related to death or something that's dead. There was also a brief time I had an extreme case of thanatophobia, where I would get constant night terrors and wake up screaming.

I chew on my bottom lip, shaking away my thoughts trying to calm myself down as I feel my chest tighten. I felt a warm hand slip into my own, letting me relax.

I glance down with my eyes to see it was Minato's, he was smiling reassuringly to me and I immediately felt at ease. He would always know when I get nervous or how to calm me down.

The teacher took us down for the welcoming ceremony in the auditorium, begrudgingly we ended up being forced to sit away from each other. Somewhere during the ceremony, I saw another student behind Minato talk to him. He glanced back for a second and then put his headphones on.

I could see students around him whispering and gossiping. They stopped when a male teacher spoke up and called Ms. Toriumi out, who hushed everyone down.

x

I stretch my arms in my seat as the bell finally rings, I look over the brother to see he's still asleep. The moment we walked into class and he sat down, he seemed to just go into sleep mode like a computer. I giggle at the thought of my brother as a robot or computer.

" 'Sup, dude?!" I jolt my head to a classmate who had a navy cap on and a goatee on his chin. He laughs warmly at my reaction, "Haha, you look like a deer in headlights."

I blink a few times, giving him a bemused look.

"I'm Junpei Iori, nice to meet ya." he holds his hand out with a grin, "I transferred here when I was in eighth grade. I know how tough it is bein' the new kid..." he smiles brightly, "So I thought I'd check up on you, make sure you weren't freaking out on your first day."

I beam him a bright smile and laugh, "Minako Arisato, a pleasure." Before I could reach out and shake Junpei's hand a familiar voice speaks up, it was Yukari.

"At it again, huh?" she sighed, "Honestly is there any girl you wouldn't hit on? Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?"

I giggle quietly watching the two argue, paying not a lot of attention to what they were really saying. Though at some point Yukari had to leave to do things for her archery club, I waved her good bye and look at Junpei with a grin on my face again.

"What is, she your nanny...?" he grumbled and then looked at me again, "Well, just to clear something up I seriously didn't come over to hit on you or anything." he grinned again, "If you ever have a problem, you can tell your ol' pal Junpei about it!"

"Thanks! I'll remember that," I giggle, "Oh do you mind if I use that name too...?"

Junpei looked at me with a bemused smile.

"You know!" I grin, "Yuka-tan! That's such a cute nickname!"

We both laugh loudly, loud enough to wake brother up as he shoots up from his seat.

*"*"*

I groan, hearing a loud laughter. Next time I would sleep with my headphones on.

I lift my head up to see sis laughing energetically with a male student with a navy cap... I stand straight up, startling them both.

"Oh! Jun-chan lemme introduce you to my brother," Minako gave us both a bright smile, "This is my twin brother, Minato."

"Whoa!" the other student looked at us with wide eyes, "Twins, really? You guys are like polar opposites than twins!"

Sis laughs, "We know, and Ni-chan this is Jun-chan! Or Junpei Iori!"

"Yeesh, I still don't get why it's Jun-chan," Iori says it with a joking smile, "Well anyway are we going to head out or what?"

I look at Minako with a questioning face, she just smiles at me.

Apparently Iori was going to joins us while walking back to the dorms, I shrug. Seeing as how much she warmed up to Iori, I couldn't just flat out say no.

On our way back Iori talked about the clubs at school, though it would take a while for us to be able to join any. Not that I was of course.  
Sis and Iori continued to chat together, and we say our good byes and get back to the dorms.

We were greeted back by Kirijo who was sitting on a couch reading a book, she mentions to us not to wander out during night as it was dangerous. I figured it had something to do with the green night. I don't push the issue.

"Nee-san come on let's head to bed early, alright?"  
She nods and we say good night and head to our room.


	3. Watchful Eyes

In-game dialogue, editing and getting carried away while writing is a terrible combination. But, thankfully we're getting to parts I'm adding new things into.

Happy to see people viewing my first work! I'm hopefully to keep up this pace.  
Again please do mention any errors I miss and please do enjoy!

I hope all of you had a good New Year so far! I on the hand have been hung over for a bit.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Watchful Eyes**

4/8

It was morning, brother and I were walking together making our way to school when I overhear some gossip. I keep my eyes in front, glancing time to time over the students nearby.

"Did you hear the rumor...?"

"Oh, um... Something about... A bathroom?"

"N-no! Not that one!"

I take note not to go near the bathrooms, during school. I really don't want to find out what that rumor was about, I continue listening as they two students chat.

"I mean the story about the first year! Not only did she stop coming to school, she does nothing but sit and stare at the walls all day. If her mother tries to talk to her, she only mutters to herself _'It's coming... It's coming...!'_"

"Huh."

"You don't believe me...?"

I frown after learning about the poor girl, I was guessing she suffered from the uprising apathy syndrome that people were coming down with. I wasn't too sure of all the details, only that you just stop caring and doing anything.

_"But... What's coming...?"_ I wonder and quickly hurry after brother who was waiting for me at the shoes lockers.

x

The bell finally rings, signaling the end of school. I was hoping to talk with Jun-chan and called out to him after school, but he merely waved and ran out the door in a hurry.

I pout.

"I even helped him when Ms. Toriumi put him on spot for dozing off!"

I feel a hand pat my shoulder, "Nee-san." I spin on my heel to face Minato with my cheeks puffed out still.

"Come on, I believe we're suppose to head back early..."

I huff, and we head back.

x

When we walk into the dorm's lobby, I see Yuka-tan with an unfamiliar man that had long wavy brown hair, dark brown eyes, glasses, a goatee on his chin wearing a dark brown turtleneck with a tan suit on.  
_"__That's a lot of brown..."_ was my first thought, when the man notices us he smiles.

"Good evening," he looks at me and brother, "My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the chairman of the board for your school."

"Um, I'm Minako Airasto...?" I answer back, puzzled at why the chairman was here. I glance to my side, and notice brother who seems to be listening away on his headphones. I gawk at him for a moment before Ikutsuki-san gets my attention again.

" 'Ikutsuki'... Hard to say isn't it?" I look at him dumbfounded, "That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes."

_"He's joking right..."_ I continue just looking at him blankly.

He moves on to apologize about the confusion about our accommodations, and mentions that it may take longer to get arranged into the normal dorms.

I smile and shake my head, "Oh no, I don't mind really. I'm happy to stay with Ni-chan a little bit longer."

"...I see," Ikutsuki-san looks rather uncomfortable but he coughs and clears out his throat, "anyway do you have any questions?"

"Um, who else lives here...?"

"There are only five students in this dorm," he smiles.

_"Five, minus me and brother... There was only three people in a four-floored dorm!?"_ I fiddle with the rim of my skirt while keeping a straight face as he continues, .

"You, your brother, Yukari here," he points at Yukari nearby, "Mitsuru and a senior named Akihiko Sanada. I hope you all get along."

I smile warmly and nod, dismissing the fact he stated the obvious though it was nice to know our fifth dorm mate's name.

"Do you have any other question?" I was about to answer but heard Minato speak up.

"What did you come here for." he spits out rather venomously, I look at him with shocked eyes. Wasn't he listening to his music?

Ikutsuki-san smiles lightly I almost shiver, I'm not sure why though it might be cause how it clashes so much with brother's heavy glare.

"To welcome you of course."

"Hmm..." I could see the doubt on Minato's face, I couldn't blame him. Even that was obviously suspicious; a chairman coming to just greet two transfer students was very strange.

"Well," Ikutsuki-san rustles me out of my thoughts, "Anymore questions?"

I shake my head in response.

"Then I hope you have a successful school year." the man smiles, "Now if you'll excuse me... You must be tired from all the excitement."

I raise an eyebrow at him, but keep quiet.

"You should go to bed early. As they say," his smile widens, " '_the early bird catches the bookworm_'!"

Yuka-tan groans, and I have to cover my mouth to hide my smile and stop myself from laughing. I do however embarrassingly let a snort out.

"...Please forgive the bad pun." he chuckles light-heartily, and waves good night before heading out of the lobby.

I look at Yuka-tan as she sighs, "You'll get used to his lame jokes."

"Aha..." I don't think I'll mention that I liked it, "Anyway we're going to head to bed now! Night Yuka-tan!"

I hear her groan again when I walk away, I really didn't know why she didn't like being called Yuka-tan.

Brother pulls me up along the stairs, silently asking me hurry up. When we walk in the first thing he does is lock the door.

He motions me to sit on the bed, I do just that.

The next thing he does is take out was his phone, he opened up a picture file: two kittens, one black and one white.

"Awww!" I squeal and whisper under my smile, "Okay, what's this about-?"

He smiles lightly unfitting for the serious tone in his hushed voice, "They're hiding something, and I overheard from Kirijo that there's cameras installed in the room. She said that they aren't being used anymore, I didn't push it but... Doesn't take a genius to figure it out really." He forces out a light chuckle, and changes the picture to something else. Pretending that we were actually doing something over his phone.

"Oh!" I gasp getting it, "That's so cute!" I quickly cover up for my gasp, pointing at the picture of a small tree frog.

_"We're being watched."_ I look at him, letting him read my thoughts and let my eyes do the talking.

He nods with a smile, and we continue to pretend we were casually talking all the while whispering about what to do.

"Just sleep for the night." Minato mumbles, pointing at his screen that had a panda eating bamboo leaves. I nod with a bright but worried smile.

He pats my head, "Good night Nee-san." He shuts his phone and we head to bed, both of us had our own worries.

But I could feel sleep slowly make my eyes droop, and I fall into a deep sleep.

x

*"*"*

I look at my sister who managed to fall asleep with ease, I smile at that. It was rare for her to fall asleep so quickly, I quietly get out of bed; avoiding making too much movement or noise that would wake my sister up. The rustling of the bed nor the creaks of the wood seemed to faze her, again a rare sight for someone that was a light sleeper. I would think twice about leaving but with the situation at hand, I couldn't just leave it alone.

I sneak out of the room, and quietly sneak about the dorm looking for where there should be a control room for the cameras installed. I made my way up to the forth floor and halt when I hear voices coming from a room nearby the roof entrance.

"So how are they doing?" I hear the man calling himself the school's chairman's voice. Cautiously I move closer to peer in a crack in the door, vaguely making out various monitors and I could tell he, Kirijo and Takeba were standing there.

"They went to bed a little while ago..." Kirijo speaks up, "However, the male Arisato left after his sister fell asleep. He still hasn't returned."

_"Not using them my ass..."_ I glared through the crack, trying to make out the monitors. I felt really bad leaving my sister alone during the night, just so I could check my suspicions. I was disgusted at myself leaving her alone and letting her be watched by these people, but I stood silent. Observing them a bit longer, see what they were planning.  
This was, in the end for her safety.

"Do you think...?"

"Well, let's wait and see for now." I hear the chairman chuckle lowly, I felt my insides churn from disgust.

The moment I saw him in the lobby, I knew straight away he was hiding his true face. After all, I've seen it multiple times: our aunts, uncles, and sometimes even doctors that placed pity on Minako, on us. Yet looked at us with warm smiles and cold hearts. None of them truly cared, to them we were just brats that had dead parents and each other. They pitied us, put a reassuring smile on their face but send us away when they get tired of us. I clutch my cold palms, I wouldn't let anyone like that come near her ever again.

I refocus back on the people in the room.

Dark Hour

The air suddenly was flooded by the smell of iron, the lights shut off, and the dark green light bathed my surroundings. I didn't even bother looking at the blood that oozed down the walls.  
It was midnight, the green night and I expected to see coffins not hear voices or see the monitors in the room still having power.

"Hmm... She's still sleeping." I hear amusement in the man's voice, I wanted to rip his eyes out for not only invading my sister's privacy but he was watching her sleep of all things to do. I growled lowly, still waiting for the motive behind their surveillance. The next thing that I heard caught my attention.

"The dark hour occurs everyday at midnight," was that the green night? I honed in and focused on the details. "You could say it's the hidden hour."  
I shuffle a little closer to the door, but not too close to be heard.

"During this time, an ordinary person transmogrifies into a coffin and is oblivious to all occurs."

Coffins, there was no mistake this _dark hour_ was the _green night_. The green night my sister would wake me up, sometimes shaking me or screaming.  
The same green night that we lived with since the accident, I keep my breaths deep. Trying to calm my pulsing heart down.

"Then," I hear Takeba speak up, "She must be..."

I was positive Ikutsuki was smiling again.

"As you can see she has retained her human form. She's asleep but definitely experiencing the dark hour." he paused probably looking at the monitor again, "The question is whether or not she has the potential, although she, no they both must. Otherwise they would've preyed on them by now."

They.

He must mean those shadow creatures, my sister and then I encountered before. I grimace remembering the first time we saw those things, a woman was devoured and killed her screams haunted sis for a month after that.  
Clenching my fist harder, I shake away to focus back on the conversation.

"In any case, we should continue to monitor them for a few more days."

"Yes, sir." Kirijo answers calmly, I would have to think of a plan for tomorrow night.

"I feel kinda bad though," I hear Takeba speak up rather sheepishly, "Spying on them, on her like this..."

I smile, at least she had some modesty to be honest. Still doesn't change the fact she tried pulling a gun on us the first night. I soon hear them mention about me and I tip-toe silently back and head to the bathroom, I only head back to bed when the dark hour ends.

x

*"*"*

I was swimming in complete darkness, it wasn't warm or cold. I was dreaming again, the same dream for the last ten years.

The world around would be engulfed by darkness, a ragged ghoul wore a skull-like mask and hovered in front of me lifelessly. Above us was a giant ominous-red eye-like orb staring down coldly, and on the pitch black ground were two bodies lying in a pool of red, motionless and lifeless.

I braced myself for the voice that would resound around me, as a hollow echo.

"_Mistress..._"

I blink in the midst of shadows, this wasn't the voice I thought it would be. Instead it seemed warm, almost familiar.

Who's voice was this...?

"_Mistress Arisato._"

Light floods into my vision, the world around me was flooded in a velvet blue color. I was seated in a soft chair of the same color and the sounds of gears clanking hummed quietly from all sides. I looked around to was seemed to be a giant elevator, and in front of my was a man.

He had white hair that was only on the sides of his head, making a bald spot on top, he wore a plain black tuxedo. His eyes were bulgy but his nose was large and long as Pinocchio. His limbs were long and thin, and he had a wide grin on his face.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," he smiles at me, "My name is Igor."

He was a strange man, but something in my heart said he wasn't bad.

The voice was different again but I smile back, "And mine is Minako, a pleasure."

His smile broadens, "...I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

I look around, wondering if I was dreaming for real. If I was dreaming of something different, and not plagued by a nightmare.

"This place," as if he read my mind he starts to explain where we are, "Exists between dream and reality, mind and matter... Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place." He slides a gloved hand on the table, I see the contract brother and I signed the night we got here.

What a strange dream.

"Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return..." He motions his hand to the contract.

"We chooseth this fate of our own free will," I quote remembering the night we signed the paper, "and accept full responsibility for our actions..."

"Correct!" Igor chuckles and places a red velvet key on the table, "Now, hold onto this... You will need this."

I nod, and take the key into my hands. Rather perplexed by this dream, though anything was better than a nightmare.

"But shouldn't brother be here too then...?" I ask not really addressing Igor, looking down at the contract. _"I mean both of our names are there, so shouldn't I dream up Minato here...?"_

Igor keeps his smile up, "Sadly only I could greet you tonight, another time perhaps. With all the other residents included may greet you two together."

My vision begins to blur and darkness, and the last thing I could make out was the strange man's smile and his last words: " 'Til we meet again."

The world around me becomes flooded with darkness, then a bright white drowns out the black.

x

4/9

I wake up to find myself lying on the ground of the room.

_"Did I fall off...?"_ I thought sitting up, stretching out my arms and back.

"Are you alright?" I look up to see Minato's hand held out, I grab it, letting him pick me up.

"Hmm," I hum, "I had a different dream than usual but I'm good. Wasn't a nightmare at least." Minato looks at me, curious or worried I wasn't too sure. "I'll tell you about later, lemme just get ready!"

He grunts, and looks at me with a stern gaze. He must have something he wants to talk about too.

x

*"*"*

I grumble, rather annoyed and loudly.

I managed to rest up and catch up on some of the sleep I missed last night and was planning to talk to Minako when Takeba came by and dragged us to the Paulownia Mall. It changed a lot from what I remember, though it had been ten years since I saw the mall or been in Iwatodai in general. The layout stayed the same though, three large fountains surrounded by the buildings; the police office, cafe and the night club. I noticed there were groups of students walking around chatting among themselves.

"Have you come here before?" Takeba asks in our direction, she looks to Minako for an answer. She merely shakes her head, looking around at the mall with dazzled eyes. Takeba smiles at her, "A lot of Gekkoukan students come here after school."

Takeba gives us a light tour of the mall before she and Minako do a bit of browsing and shopping.

Eventually we head back to the dorms in the evening, once again greeted by Kirijo. While Takeba says good night to Minako, heading upstairs.

"The moon is beautiful tonight," I hear Kirijo mention, "It might be nice to read a book by moonlight once in a while."

"That's a fantastic idea! The moon's full only once a month after all, it'd be a shame to not look at it!" I see Minako beam happily, she always cheers up quickly when she thinks about the moon.

I on the other hand, feel more somber about it. It was after all a full moon when our parents died, not that my sister could remember.

I rather keep quiet, I don't want to take away one of her fewest joys.

"Ahem," I cough getting Minako's attention, "...If you would please excuse us, we have some work to do."

"Huh-Oh right, yeah g'night Mitsuru-senpai!" I drag Minako along with a loose grip around her wrist, we head upstairs.

I stop in front of the door, and turn to Minako who was worried with confusion.

"They were watching our room during the green night," I explain in a hushed voice leaning down to her ear, "and they know a lot about it from what I heard."

Minako frowns, at both what I said and at me.

"You mean you left the room to sneak around..." though I could tell she was upset by this, she moved on. Knowing I wouldn't do such a thing without a good reason. "And what about the green night-?"

I put a finger to her lips hushing her, "Just stayed dressed for tonight, I have a bad feeling about tonight."

Minako merely hums lowly, I move on to open the door and we wait.

x

Dark Hour

Both of us we were lying in bed, still dressed in our uniforms.

I was wide awake, Minako had dozed off but I didn't mind. She was a light sleeper to begin with, it was simple to wake her up and she wasn't too difficult to carry.

The world shifts, dark green light and the ever-so familiar aroma of blood poured around us. It was the Dark Hour; our green night again.

A bit nervous and anxious I felt the hilt of my short-sword, I snuck in various weapons while moving place to place. Collecting weapons was partly a hobby of mine, but majority was to be prepared in case if something happens.

Something bad happens.

And as if right on cue, the walls of the room vibrate from something hitting the outside of the building. Something that was strong, and large.

It gave a loud monstrous screech, that made my head pound.

I curse, shaking away my trembling and move grabbing my sister's hand dragging us both out of bed.


	4. First Moon

Break's almost over for me, so less spare time for me.

But nevertheless please enjoy, and mention any errors I may have missed!

* * *

**Chapter 4: First Moon**

Dark Hour

"Nee-san come on!"

I'm startled awake by brother's panicked voice, I nearly scream from a sudden loud scream and the shaking floor. I look to see Minato already on guard with a short sword in his right hand, and his other hand was tightly gripped around my wrist.

He dragged us towards the door.

Only for the door fling open and Yuka-tan; a terrified, Yukari ran in carrying a long thin red-pole that had a short blade on top.

A naginata.

Her face was pale from fear, and she had both the red armband around her arm, along with the same silver gun hanging on her waist. She gawked for a moment at my brother, most likely shocked at the sword brother held.  
She shook it off, but terror still swarmed her eyes.

"Y-You're awake!" her voice was panicked and shaky, much like the rest of her body.

"Here take this," she shoved the naginata into my hands and before Minato or I could protest she dragged us both out, "I don't have time to explain. We just have to get out of here, now!"

I was still dazed from sleep, and toppled clumsily over my feet. I felt brother hold me steady as Yukari pulled us downstairs to the rear entrance of the dorm. We stop only a few feet away from the door and I wheeze hard trying to catch my breath.

"Alright we should be safe for now-" Yukari was cut off by some beeping noise that came from her ear. I saw there was a small black earpiece, she clicked to answer it and buzzing out loudly was Mitsuru-senpai's voice.

_"-Takeba do you read me!?-"_ the elder sounded in panic, making me fidget and tighten my grip on the naginata.

"Y-yes! I hear you!"

_"-Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one were fighting isn't the one Akihiko saw!-"_

"What!?" the brunette nearly screams, she looks at us with terrified eyes when a something pounds at the doors. Whatever that was outside, screeched loudly making my entire body wince from the high pitched noise.

"Come on, this way!" Yukari drags us back upstairs, and she ends up turning to the roof door and pushing us through.

I didn't like where this was going, I hear metal being slammed and a horrible click behind us. My insides turn and my heart begins racing, my instincts were screaming at me to get back inside. I flip my head to the side and see Yukari leaning on the door.

_"She didn't actually lock it right-"_

"The door's locked." Yukari sighs with relief, I felt the blood in my face drain from horror.

_"Oh my god she did."_

"I think we're safe for now..." Yukari looks back us with a nervous smile, she managed to look more calmer than a few seconds ago. Despite making us more trapped than before.

"You idiot!" my brother outbursts and that ear-wrenching screech sounds across from us, "Ugh! Damn it!"  
He curses, drawing out his short blade from the black sheath; throwing it aside and his posture into a fighting stance with his eyes set forward in front of us.

I look up, dreading every second.

I drop the naginata on the ground, letting it clatter to the ground.

A large black hand reach over the ledge of the roof. Another hand followed, holding a dark-blue mask that had an 'I' carved on the forehead. As if the mask were its head, the hand rotated around to scan the rooftop. It paused, looking straight at us with large hollow-black eyes.

More black hands reached over the ledge, and it hoisted itself up onto the roof. The thing was made up entirely of arms, its linked limbs pitch-black and hovering behind it were six silver blades gleaming under the green moonlight.

Each held by one black limb.

I trembled, and fall on the ground as my knees wouldn't hold me up anymore.

Unable to stand or move from fear.

"You gotta be kidding me...!" I hear Yukari gasp, "That thing, we call them shadows!"

I look to her with disbelief, was she really explaining something important when there was a monster- shadow thing in front of us?!

"Takeba!" brother shouted with haste, "What are you doing hurry up and get out of here!"

I keep my eyes forward watching in horror the shadow crawling towards us on its thin, long limbs.

He hissed, swinging his sword at one of the monster's limbs when it was in range. It barely make a scratch and swung one of its own blades down, causing brother to jump to avoid the attack.

"O-oh yeah... I have to fight...!" I turn my head at Yukari when I heard her mutter, "I... I can summon mine... No problem..."

She raised and held the silver gun to her forehead, her eyes were closed and she was shaking with sweat.

"TAKEBA!" Minato rams into Yukari, pushing her at the door she yelled in pain. She drops the gun and it skids towards my knees, the cold metal made me skin shiver.  
While I see a burst of flames hit where Yukari was just standing, where brother had pushed her away.

Where he was now standing.

The flames blaze and burn up on his left arm, he screams in pain. Rolling on the ground to smother the fire on his body, he was forced abandon the sword sword as it dropped while he clutched his body in pain. I felt myself gag from the smell of burning skin and my eyes tear up from the heat and smoke.

I hear the shadow's steps coming closer, the monster was coming closer. I look back at it, staring blankly.

Death immobilized me, fear became to drown my mind. My body begun shaking violently, I felt myself gasping for air but it was like my lungs shut off and I was being choked. My thoughts askew, I can't think straight and my vision blurs from either the hot tears swelling out now or the absolute terror that was overflowing in me.

Everything was silent, only my heart's heavy thumping and head pounded loudly in my ears.

It crawls even closer, with its hollow inhuman black eyes piecing at me.

I wanted to scream, but my throat was dry and my lips couldn't move. Nothing could move, fear had complete control over me.

_"This is it, I'm going to die. We're all going to die. Why. Why, why whyWHYWhYWHYWHY I dON'T WANT TO DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIe DIE-"_

A jolt shocks through my body, I feel my tense limbs go limp. My shoulders lax, my eyes glance down at my sweaty hands that no longer shook violently. I watch one reach for the gun in front of my knees.

I begin to move like I was enchanted by a spell, by a witch.

I stand up, my legs are stable and hold me up as if fear disappeared completely.

Time felt paused, for moments I see the world turn pitch-black and I look forward to where the monster should have been, only to see a boy in striped pajamas standing calming in front of me. He smiles at me with soft blue eyes.

It was boy from the night we arrived.

"_Go on._" his voice felt like it came from the very bottom of soul, I could feel my head lighten at the sound of his voice.

He lifts one hand towards the side of his head, it was gesturing a gun. My body complies and mirrors the boy, almost like I was his puppet. I felt the cold muzzle of the gun was pressed on the side of my head, on my left temple. My heart was racing, I should be scared yet strangely I wasn't.

The boy softly whispers to me, still smiling gently.

"_You can do it._" with that he finishes the gesture, mimicking a bang to the head. Encouraging me to do the same.

I shut my eyes. I felt my lips slowly creep into a smile and my voice choked out one word:

"Per... so... na..."

I pull the trigger.

*"*"*

I clench my teeth in pain as the flames died out, leaving only the painful sensation of burning on my arm. I barely could move the raw-red fingers. I curse, as my left arm was now rendered useless with these burns but the danger hasn't passed yet.

I look over to where Takeba was, merely knocked into the wall and now flat on the ground sitting on her side. Disorientated by my tackle, I would have a long chat with her later about her priorities when it comes to dangerous situations.

I hear a sickening squelching sound coming closer, and Minako's voice. Unnaturally flat and quiet, her words almost sounded robotic. Almost forced.

"Per... so... na..."

A large shatter echos in the chilled night air.

I flip over off my stomach, looking up; seeing Minako's back.

She was holding a gun to her head.

She looked strange, off.

Her body looked almost like she was being held up by strings.

A veil of blue light swirled around her and above a giant creature emerged. From what I could see from its back, it had gold and silver limbs that seemed to be some sort of metal, some parts were covered by cream-white colored cloth, there was something bright red wrapped around it's neck and it had long auburn hair that flowed gently upward with the wind; much like Minako's own hair. Underneath its hair, latched on its back was a large lyre shaped like a heart.

I nearly choked when the thing spoke, it sounded exactly like our mother. Exactly like an calm, motherly Minako.

"_Thou art I, and I am thou-__"_

The creature shrieked to halt, clutching its head with its gloved hands and cradling its entire body with what were its knees. It was in pain, and immense pain.

I quickly put my focus back to Minako.

She now on her knees, with the silver gun dropped as she clutched her own head in pain.

The faint blue light was now being shrouded with a black mist that came from under my sister. The mist swirls around both her and the creature that was above her, followed by loud crackling and tearing sounds.

They both screamed.

Minako's scream continued as something ripped its way out of the metal thing. Her screaming ceased with one final tear, her legs completely gave out and her thighs collapsed having her sitting limply on the floor.

I wanted to move, I wanted to rush over to her. I wanted to hold her and check if she was alright, if she was hurt.

But I couldn't, my entire body was paralyzed.

Frozen in place, my ears and eyes glued on what had ripped its way out of the metal being.

The thing that appeared was a human-like figure, it wore a black-long coat with red belts, wearing white gloves and boots that were rimmed with gold on the bottom. Clutched in one hand was a long sword, the black sheath hanging off its belt. The thing's face was covered with a black material, latched over top was a white mask that resembled a dinosaur or dragon, and chained on its back were eight coffins.

It reeked of death.

I swore it took a glance at me before letting out a roar with murderous intent, a suffocated blood lust. I recoil, unfamiliar to the immense fear that flooded in my body.

The thing discarded its weapon and charging at the monster made of arms, violently attacking. It tore each limb off, pounding the shadowy creature into the ground, crushing parts of black flesh with its gloved hands and smashing apart its mask.

I felt my entire body frozen in place, I was petrified.

Black mist shrouded the area two monsters once stood, only one was left. The remaining creature let out a howl before it vanished and Minako collapsed to the ground.

"Onee-san!" I panic, finally snapping back to reality. I forced my body up through the pain and terror pulsing through it.

I felt sick; my vision blurry, my head pounded, and my arm was covered with fresh aching burns.  
I felt ashamed.  
Weak.  
Pathetic.

I was suppose to protect her, my sister. My twin, my other half that kept me going with her smile.  
Instead I was useless, I ended up letting her do something dangerous.  
Letting her get hurt.

I rush to her side.

_"She's just unconscious."_ I sigh relief seeping in, as I checked over her body for any physically injures._  
_

"...Is it over?" I heard Takeba's voice wheeze out weakly.

Just as if she spoke taboo, we hear two more inhuman growls. I look over, and there were two more creatures; they were small and had masks much like the first one but monsters were monsters. They were dangerous.  
They crawl towards us mindlessly like untamed beasts, I curse and grind my teeth.

"No... G-get away from me!" Takeba yells, panicked and sinking into the wall.

I scan quickly and grab the naginata my sister dropped, swinging it hard at one of the creatures that came close enough. The blade snapped on impact, despite using only one hand, my weaker arm.  
Takeba had given my sister to my horror; an imitation, a fake weapon to protect herself with.

I refocus, that wasn't important right now. Not when we're in danger, when she was in danger.

"Takeba! The sword, get the sword!" I yell swinging the useless stick around at the two masked things, hoping it would buy enough time as it distracted them.

"H-huh!?" Takeba jumps, but she doesn't move fast enough and one of the two monsters crawls past me towards my sister. My, unconscious and defenseless sister.

My heart races, and body tenses overwhelmed by emotions. With only one thought racing through my head: her death.

I couldn't let her die, I had to protect her. I needed her, I need to protect her.

A silver-green glint catches my eye, throwing away the useless naginata. I hastily grab the gun that was dropped on the ground, pressing it roughly against the right side of my head.

"_Can you do it?_" I hear a voice echo in my head.

I didn't have time to think, to hesitate.

I shoot.

A familiar sound of shattering glass resounds and blue light swirls around me. I felt power swell inside me, and a voice booms behind me.  
It sounded just like our father.

"_Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy's soul, I cometh._"

I look over my shoulder, seeing a creature similar to the one my sister brought out. Only instead of gold plating, it had a silvery-blue torso, a speaker for its stomach, it had pure-white hair styled much like mine, one of its red eyes cover while the other gleamed brightly down at me and latched on its back was a regular shaped lyre.

"_I am Orpheus, master of strings._"

I turn back to the creatures that had their eyes on me, I smile drunk in the power that overflowed inside me. My expression darkens entirely, lathered with my boiling rage. I raise my burned arm and point loosely at the creatures, feeling myself smirking still.

"Kill them." I growl, with utter hate. Abiding to my command, the thing called Orpheus flies forward to the two creatures. Wielding its lyre, it crushes them with ease making them disperse into black mist.

It was over and Orpheus vanished.

I collapse.


	5. Boundaries

Alright here we go, dear god I didn't expect it to be this long.  
I also have an idea for where I want to put the pairings at.  
Where? Oho, that is something that you'll have to find out. (I'll give some light hints as to who Minato and Minako are paired with as we go along, I would feel delighted to see people guess who.)

Again please enjoy and feel free to point out any mistakes!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Boundaries**

"It's so nice to see you both this time." I hear man speak up.

I snap my eyes open, and wince from the sudden blue light flooding in my vision. I let my eyes adjust, to see blue velvet all around me and dwarf-faced man in front of me.

"What-?" I was just on the roof, and I was positive I fainted. Was this a dream?

"Welcome to the Velvet room, of course you," he looks to over to my side, "already knows of this place."

"Igor-?" I snap my head to the side when I hear Minako's surprised shout, her red eyes wide but there fear was absent in them.

"W-wait wasn't I just on the roof!?-"

"Ah, I told you once before my dear." he chuckles lightly, never letting the smile on his face waver. "This is a place that exists between dreams and reality, mind and matter."

"Are we..." I pause and glance over Minako, carefully picking out my words. _Are we dead? _was what I wanted to ask, but I couldn't leave that last word leave my lips. A chilling fear stirred, I couldn't just carelessly feed an idea like that to my sister. Especially not after what just happened.

The dwarf called Igor beamed an ecstatic smile at me, he laughed. As if reading my mind and mocking me, letting out a cheery laugh.

"You both fell unconscious after awaking to your 'power'."

I breathed easier, but by power did he mean those things that came out after shooting ourselves?

"I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling."

I grunt, rather annoyed now. This Igor seemed to like keeping this aura of mystery on things.

"That power is called a Persona... It is a manifestation of your psyche."

"What do you mean?" Minako asks, her face both confused but curious.

"A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli..."

_"External stimuli...?"_

"You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. When you channel your Persona ability you must channel your inner strength."

"As in courage and wisdom...?" Igor chuckles softly at sister as a response.

"No my dear. Your abilities evolve as you develop social links," he looks at us both with smiling eyes, "Your emotional ties with others. The stronger the ties, the more powerful your Personae ability."

_"Personae, isn't that plural?"_ I nod, to show I was still listening.

"Please remember that." Igor's voice softens at the last part, and his gaze felt warm. Almost like how close family would look at you, it felt strange but so natural.

"And for you," he looks at me again with a wide grin, "Take this, and keep it with you always."

A blue key appears in front of me, shimmering in the light. It floats downward and plops down my lap.

"Now then, time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you two here any longer." he laughs, "The next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord. Until then..."

I felt my vision darken, and my body felt like it was floating. I wince in pain as a burning sensation hit my nerves.

"Farewell."

Everything becomes black.

x

4/18

I push my body up, feeling my arm flare up in pain.

I growl at the pain, looking at my arm to see it was wrapped tightly with bandages. Underneath I could picture the disgusting flesh that was burned. I shrug it of so I could scan around the unfamiliar room I was in.

I was sitting on a rather hard bed with white sheets like the walls around me, it stunk of medicine and antibiotics: a hospital room. That was all I needed to know, to make me frantically search the room with my eyes for Minako, she wasn't in the same room. I do, however hear a startled voice.

"You're awake...!"

I look right next to me, seeing Takeba seated next to me. She seemed to have jumped when I suddenly woke up and rose like some sort of madman.

The look she gave me, was rather perplexing. Even when she was scared by my sudden movement, she was only startled. Once calm I could see her eyes sparkling with admiration or affection, I wasn't too sure. Only it felt like it was drilling a hole straight through me, I wanted to shrink away from her gaze.

"...My sister?" I ask trying not to shake, very uncomfortable by the eyes that weren't interested in me only a day ago, or days as I wasn't sure how long I've been out.

"Oh, Minako-chan..." her expression drops, "The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with her. He said she was just exhausted. The doctor wanted to keep an eye on your burns so you were put in another room."

I hiss at that, looking away. Leaving rather awkward silence to hang in the air, before Takeba speaks up again.

"Um... I wanted to thank you... And say I'm sorry couldn't do anything..."

I arch an eyebrow at her.

"But, you and Minako-chan's power... It was amazing." her eyes beamed at me again, I inwardly shiver. It seemed like I would need to get used to her, rather dazzled gaze. I just hope it was a phase and not permanent. I would probably kill whatever good image she has of me, after all there were long ways before I could trust her and Minako was my first priority to begin with.

"Mind telling me what those things, these shadows were...?"

"...You mean those shadows? They're what we're fighting against. And the power you used, we call it 'persona'."

That tells me nothing.

"When Minako-chan wakes up, we'll explain everything later. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before..." the girl's face suddenly shrouded with guilt, "Um, I..."

I stay silent. Waiting for the girl to spit out her words.

"I wanted to tell you that..." she pauses again hesitant, "...I'm sorta like you."

I could see where this was going.

"My dad died in an accident when I was little... And my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms." Takeba looks at me, "You two are all alone too, right?"

I keep my expression stoic, but my heart stirred.

"To be honest, I already know about your past... But it didn't seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine. It was back in '99, there was a big explosion in the area. Supposedly, my dad died in the blast, but nobody really knows what happened."

Anger, irritation.

"He was working in a lab run by the Kirijo Group. So," she takes a breath, eyes now filled with determination. "I'm hoping to stick around long enough, I'll find out something. That's why I'm going to Gekkoukan High, and why I was there when this happened to you. Of course, I panicked and wasn't much help... It was my first time fighting them too." She frowns apologetically, "I'm sorry... You wouldn't have to go through all this if I wasn't such a coward."

Her eyes look into my own, waiting for me to answer.

I look at her, almost speechless from how angry I was.

"Takeba, I appreciate your sentiment-" I pause to think, this wasn't something I should leave alone quietly. I take a deep breath, physically and mentally preparing myself and letting my face go blank. "Actually wait I don't. I don't give a single damn about it."

I felt eyes gawking at me, I keep talking. Slowly letting my anger steam out through my words.

"You should know better, than to suddenly talk about people being the same like you. Let give you good advice Takeba, don't assume shit about people you barely know." I see her shrink under my light glare, "You're quite lucky you told this story to me first, rather than to Nee-san. Though I doubt you would have realized what you were doing wrong from how you're acting right now, but if you really did look through our records. Then you should know about Minako's- _our_ background. Family and _medical_."

She looks at me now frantic and stuttering her words, realizing her mistake.

She knew.

My heart screamed with rage, but my face became even blanker.

"I-"

"Stop, just shut up." I sigh completely irritated, "Nee-san, my sister has gone through enough already. Amnesia and phobias are just the tip of the iceberg, Takeba..." I look at the other with a straight face, "She was a complete and utter wreck. Hell, even I was complete mess after the accident. Finding out your own twin sibling can't even remember her own name, let alone her brother." I scowl over the memory, over how scared my sister was of everything. How she couldn't remember even simple things, like her age, what she liked, her own name and her family.

It was horrifying to watch her, and act like that. Completely different from the sister I grew up with, when our parents were still living. I steel myself, shutting the memory away. Coming back to the present, frothing with detest and anger.

"Isn't exactly a common nor wanted situation to be in or be _reminded_ of, especially in my sister's case."

I don't even let her open her mouth, I continue lashing out on her.

"And telling me that I'm _alone_ like you isn't exactly something you tell someone, someone that just woke up in a hospital. After fighting with a damn monster, a real _life threatening_ monster that _attacked_ us, and attacked my sister. So, Takeba I want you to understand, that just because you read some records or you spy in our rooms with your shitty cameras," the girl jumps at that, "Does _not_ mean you understand them. Never, and I mean _never_ try this again, you're free to talk about whatever you fucking want. When get on terms as _friends _but I'm quite sure we're nowhere close to that kind of relationship. Now stop being so careless with your words, and think."

She stares at me, completely speechless.

"Don't expect me to apologize either, as I'm merely returning your _kind_ gesture of stepping over other's boundaries."_  
_

Takeba, guessing from the way she talked about her story wanted someone to sympathize with her. Normally people would have, but I didn't have any reason to be kind to a stranger.

Minus the fact I did save her from getting burned up like my arm.

A minute after silence I thought I was too harsh, but I couldn't back off now. Especially not after the other stepped on a landmine for my sister, and-

Takeba ran out, my face was swelling with pain.

She slapped me.

If I was immature, I would have probably regretted saving her and should have let the girl burn in place of my arm.

But I wasn't, I was done being childish.

I fall back in the bed, hoping that Minako would wake up soon.

Soon, turned into the next day.

x

4/19

Screaming.

I run to her and hold her close, resting her ear to my pulsing heart. Letting her suck in the comforting warmth of life.

I whisper gently into her ear.

Hushing her down, and bringing her back from her dreary delusions.

x

*"*"*

4/20

"Yo, long time no see. What's up?" I look up to see Jun-chan at the gates of the school, I smile at him brightly. "Did you have an upset stomach or something?"

My smile falls a bit.

"S-something like that, finally got discharged from the hospital in the morning with Ni-chan." I point towards Minato, under his uniform you could see the white bandages visible on his left hand. He shrugs not turning back but acknowledging Jun-chan.

"I never want to go back again. I hate hospitals so much..." I groaned thinking back to yesterday.

Yesterday I ended up coming to in a hospital, but to me it was just a blank white room that I was alone in. My throat still felt sore from my loud shrieks and sobbing; as I thought that death had caught me, and swept'd me away from my life.

Separated from brother and leaving me all alone.

It took almost the entire day yesterday, for the hospital staff to calm me down. Though granted that they were relieved of the duty the moment Minato came rushing into my room, he held me tightly to his chest. His warmth was more than enough to make my sobs stop, his soothing hushes only made me feel safer. I faintly remember how the staff called us two lovebirds, not realizing we were siblings.

I shake away the embarrassed red that threatened my cheeks, turning to give Jun-chan another smile.

"So how's it going with you?"

His face brightens,"I got something to tell ya."

"Oh-? What is it?" I look him with big eyes, curious to know.

"Actually," I look at him with excitement but he quickly covers his mouth, "Oh wait! I'm not suppose to say anything!"

"Oh!" I pout at him and lightly pushing him, "You big tease!"

"Sorry man!" Jun-chan laughs, still grinning at me.

"You're not sorry at all!" I cry loudly, but I laugh too. I almost thought I heard Minato chuckle at us.

"Sheesh, someone's full of energy today... I could hear you all the way over there." behind us we turn to Yuka-tan who was walking up to, or rather in front of us.

"Oh hey! Yuka-tan!" I smile at her, she returns it with her own (though awkward) smile. She paces next to me, obviously avoiding eye-contact with my brother.

Something clearly happened between the two.

"You three live in the same dorm, yet came separately today?"

"What? I just left a little late!" Yuka-tan defends herself, "A-anyways, I need to talk to her. So bye-bye Junpei."

Yukari grabs by the arm, walking past both Jun-chan who I could hear was shocked (and maybe hurt?) and my brother. We stop in front of the shoe lockers.

"Are you feeling better?" I nod, "...Minako-chan. Um, sorry to hit you with first thing in the morning... But Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today. Come to the forth floor of the dorm after school, okay? Don't forget!" she waves good bye, running to class.

"Uh, okay...? I'll tell Ni-chan too then..." something really bad must have happened for her to avoid Minato this much. I ponder about the girl's reason while waiting by the lockers for Jun-chan and brother to catch up.

I pass Minato a note just before class, telling him about the meeting later.

He didn't seem happy at all about it, but he continues keeping his dazed and half-asleep expression throughout the day. Even falling sound asleep in class, crashing his head on the desk.

How he manages that I will never know, I look over to Jun-chan.

He was fast asleep on his desk too.

I choke trying not laugh at them both.

The history teacher, Mr. Ono drone on about the stone ages. He finishes off by complaining on how boring this was and that the Sengoku era was the most exciting part in Japan's history.

Really biased but funny and unique, with his helmet.

He grimaces when he sees we have Jomon period next, cutting class short he decides to call on a victim to answer his question.

That being Jun-chan.

"Junpei! What was the style of houses in the Jomon period called?"

Jun-chan's head shoots up, startled and flabbergasted.

"Uhh... How am I supposed to know about something way back then?"

He lightly kicks brother's chair in front of him for help, he glares at poor Jun-chan with the corner of his eye in response.

"_Mud huts._" his face is snarling but he manages to keep his voice to a low whisper.

"Uh, mud huts?"

"That's correct. Mud huts were built by digging a hole in the ground and supporting the roof."

Mr. Ono went back to droning on about his love about the Sengoku era again. Around me I could hear the students whispering about brother, all in awe. Amazed by how he knew the answer, though it didn't matter to Minato. As he was already back to sleeping, head on on his arms.

How charming.

The day went by quickly and school was over. Jun-chan runs out after beaming me a smile, to say goodbye. I hover over brother's shoulder and nudge him awake.

"Ni-channn..." he groans at me, not bothering to look up. "Come on, we have to go back to dorm. Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to us!"

Another groan, I groan back in response.

"I will so leave you here."

"You wouldn't."

I huff, "I could."

He grumbles and finally gives in, getting up from his seat. I grin happily at him, grabbing our bags and we head back to the dorm.

x

We enter into an empty lounge. I guessed they all were upstairs, I trot up the stair but brother tugs on me to stop for a second. I look at him, puzzled.

"They're probably going to explain about the other night... But I stay quiet alright."

I tilt my head at him, and nod slowly. He knew I had my own questions too, but I knew he didn't trust them just yet. In fact was suspicious, being extremely cautious and careful about how we approached them, a little silly in my opinion.

We head to the forth floor. Yuka-tan calls us over in the hallway, gesturing us in.

Inside were a few pinkish sofas with golden cushions, with three other people sitting on them. I saw Mitsuru-senpai, Ikutsuki-san and a unfamiliar male with short silver hair, sporting a bandage on a side of his forehead. He wore a white collared shirt, a dark ribbon, red vest and one of his arms was draped in a cast and it was hanging in a sling around his neck.

I didn't want to know what happened, but I could guess.

Yuka-tan walked in, sitting down nearby Ikutsuki-san.

"Ah, there you are." Ikutsuki-san looks at us with a relieved smile, "I'm glad that both of you are okay. I wasn't what I'd do if anything happened to you."

I shiver at that point, not wanting to recall what he was referring to; that night, that monster.

"The reason why I asked for you two is because I needed to talk to you." again stating the obvious but the tone of his voice changed, startling me. "Please have a seat." He waved his hand towards the open spots on the sofa, for us to sit.

Minato takes a spot right across Ikutsuki-san and beside Mitsuru, I sheepishly take the spot closest to my twin brother. Next to the silver-haired male.

"Oh before that," I see Ikutsuki-san points towards the person next to me, "I believe I mentioned him earlier but this is Akihiko."

"How ya doin'?" he smiles at me, I simply nod nervously while fidgeting to not stare at his cast.

"Okay, let me start off by asking you this..." I glance at brother's face as Ikutsuki-san talks, his expression barely budges. I look back at the man who was addressing us.

"Would you believe me if I said that the day consists of more than twenty-four hours?"

I keep my mouth pinned shut, clutching bundles of my skirt in my hands without meaning to.

I knew.

They knew.

"For ten years at midnight," everyone, even me look at Minato as he blankly answered, he swirls a finger in the air lazily. "The power, streetlights, everything goes out, the world is glazed with that green light and filled with..."

He stumbling over his words, sneaking a glance at me.

"Blood and coffin-people." I choke on the lump in my throat, sheepishly looking at brother that stared at me. Worried.

I wasn't that bad anymore, at least I think. Sure I would get weak knees about some things, but blood and coffins were normal... I look at my hands, they're drenched in sweat. I take the last part back, still creepy.

"...This is the hour you people dub as the 'Dark Hour', correct?" Minato focused back to the others in the room, his eyes now cold and devoid of emotion.

"That's correct," Ikutsuki-san regained his posture, "It occurs each night at midnight. It'll happen tonight and every night to come."

We know, I painfully know. After all we lived for ten years going through this, no matter where we were.

"Normal people don't realize it, since they're all sleeping inside their coffins." I jump at from the voice beside me, Akihiko looked at me and my brother with a serious face. I could see a twinkle in his eyes that made me frown.

"But," he continues now with a playful smirk on his face, "That's not what makes the Dark Hour so interesting. You saw those creatures."

My face pales.

"Shadows, from what I've seen not interesting." I didn't even have to look to know there was a scowl on his face as he growled, "They're mindless things that attack anything that's moving, and attacked _us.._. Please do not treat this as a game Sanada, from what I take. You're sporting some unique trophies from what I take was from encounter."

I feel my heart drop, did he mean his arm was...

"Akihiko! Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!"

Mitsuru-senpai clarifies it. It was from one of those shadows attacking.

"Now, now. He does his work well."

_"Work?"_ I sink in the couch, hoping I could go to bed with brother soon or this was just some twisted joke.

"Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, S.E.E.S for short."

The red armbands comes to mind.

"On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating shadows. Mitsuru is the leader, and I'm the club adviser."

"A shadow feeds on the mind of its prey, and the victim becomes a living corpse."

I flinch at every word as Mitsuru-senpai begins to explain what shadows do.

"They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them."

_"The apathy syndrome...?"_ I let my mind wander, trying to calm myself. Maybe I should have thought about kittens, as I felt my chest tighten.

"I refuse for both of us," I feel Minato grab my hand, I cling onto my lifeline desperately. Hugging onto his arm, showing just how uncomfortable I was. I get a soft rub on my back. "I already know you people have been spying, _violating_ our privacy. You've gone through our records as well, I know this is certain from Takeba."

_"Records?"_ I blink in horror, they went through our _past_just like that. I glance at Yuka-tan in disbelief, I was hoping she would retort or say that she didn't. She merely fidgets awkwardly in her seat not looking at either of us. I couldn't believe it, Yuka-tan, no Yukari actually did that. I could only guess why she and brother were on terrible terms now.

"I don't care if you see we hold this stupid potential- use these ridiculous Personae. I'm not letting my sister go through that again, and you can't make us join you're game of playing hero."

I hear Ikutsuki chuckle lightly, "You two would benefit as well being in the club, you wouldn't have to be moved to the _separate_ dorms."

The man, the chairman of a school was trying to corner us in with bribery.

"There are hotels."

"But what about finances?"

"I can get jobs."

"But school-"

"I can drop out. I have no reason to trust you, with my sister's safety. So don't even bother trying anything else." brother's voice was firm and final.

Silence merely hanged in the room.

Ikutsuki-san speaks up again, his smile was almost terrifying.

"Your parents, died ten years ago here." Brother growls loudly at the man, "I can presume that their death may had been influenced by shadows, which is why you two experienced the dark hour so young."

I perk up, not thinking about death but the mere mention of our parents.

Of the truth.

I look to Minato with big eyes, half begging him to accept and other telling him to not. He sighs and mutters, clearly displeased.

"I guess I just wasted our time, if my sister is fine. I'll be fine-" he pauses, "However. I have conditions if you want two of us to join- and I'm saying this now, you can't just have only Minako. I will force her away from you people even if she hates me."

I almost chuckled, but remember how serious he was.

"I understand," I look bewildered at Ikutsuki-san, he agreed so easily. "What are your conditions?"

"We stay together, same room and cameras are shut off. If I break them there's no penalty for it." those are reasonable, "No one goes out with Nee-san until they tell me, and we aren't acting under your instructions." one of those were a bit questionable, but I couldn't find the heart to speak up here.

He shoots a glare at Ikutsuki-san, a glare that I could almost feel.

"Hmm," Ikutsuki-san barely seems to flinch under brother icy-eyes, "Those are just fine, we can arrange that can't we Mitsuru?"

I see Mitsuru-senpai gawk a moment, flustering to regain her composure.

"Y-yes, we can allow this... Just this once..."

Mitsuru-senpai puts a large silver case on the table, opening up to reveal two silver guns that were the same as Yukari's and two red armbands with S.E.E.S printed on it again.

I clutch tighter around Minato's arm, breathing uneasily. But I was determined to know what drove me to push through brother's protective wall.

Ikutsuki-san smiles at me, "Thank you so much. I'm really glad."

I half-heartily smile back, when I feel a sudden jolt shock through my head. My body doesn't flinch from the voice echoing in my mind.

x

*"*"*

_Thou art I... And I am thou..._

_Thou hast established a new bond..._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana._

I nearly jumped from the booming voice, but I stand stiff.

It mentioned creating Personas, so I shrugged it off as something related to that strange dwarf in the Velvet Room.

I sigh, I already had Minako to worry about, and now there was this.

o

...I regret letting go...

I sink myself deeper into crimson, clinging to the other.  
Hoping that this was just a dream.  
A mere nightmare.

Wishing to wake up.  
But that wasn't possible.

Cause this wasn't a dream.

It was real.


	6. Responsibility

I'm very happy to know that people like how this is going so far! I'm feeling quite excited to get to some parts even more now! Hopefully I don't rush myself to get to them though, aha.

Gosh, the chapters are getting lengthy a lot lately. I needed to split this chapter otherwise it would be quite long, aha.

Once more I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Responsiblity  
**

Dark Hour

"Hi, how are you?"

I jump at the voice, and knock my forehead into something.

Or rather someone.

It was the blue-eyed boy, I swore it was the boy's head I bumped into. But he didn't seem phased or even notice, almost as if he didn't feel the sensation of pain.

Or he just didn't care.

I look over to where brother was, he was still sleeping. I turn back to the child, surrounded by green light.

It was the dark hour.

Now that I looked at him carefully, he seemed to be around ten. He still wore the same striped pajamas and sandals as did when we met, his hair was dark and short while skin was white as snow. His eyes were a shocking bright blue, contrasting with the rest of his attire. And under his left eye was a simple small mole.

He was adorable, but...

"Who are you?"

"We've met before." he says with a childish giggle.

I nod, giving him a warm smile with embarrassed cheeks not realizing I voiced my thoughts out loud. Thankfully just the last part to my relief.

His lips curved up into a carefree smile, that clashed violently with his next words.

"Soon, the end will come." the bed shifts, "I remembered, so I thought I should tell you."

_"Remembered? So he forgot?"_

"...The end?" I ask, ignoring brother's sleeping figure next to me for a moment; letting my voice go over a whisper. I quickly cover my lips, not sure whether to wake Minato up or not. I glance over the small child...

He doesn't seem bad.

"The end of everything." his smile falls and he frowns while looking down sadly, "...But to be honest, I don't really know what it is."

He looks back at me. "Oh, it looks like you've awakened to your power... And an unusual power it is."

"...It is?" I whisper, curiosity filling my mind.

"Your power is a power that takes many forms, yet is bound by none..." he smiles softly, "It may prove to be your salvation, depending on where you end up."

I look over at brother, he was still in deep sleep.

"Do you remember when we first met?" I look back at the boy, "I expect you to honor your commitment."

Words come up to mind.

"We chooseth this fate of our own free will...?"

He smiles brightly.

"I'll be watching you, even if you forget about me..."

I smile sadly, looking at the child.

"I won't forget, I'll remember."

He blinks at me, surprise in his blue eyes. He keeps his smile up.

"Okay then, see you later."

The child disappears, fading away as if he was never there. It didn't scare me, which was strange but I thought nothing of it.

I felt myself drift slowly back to sleep.

x

*"*"*

4/21

"Mornin'. Um..." Takeba speaks up, nervous. "Sorry about this..."

"Oh don't worry about it Yukari-chan." Minako smiled at the other girl but stayed close to my side, the way she spoke was obvious to me. She was being distant, no longer sticking the pet-name Iori used with her. Every movement and word stiff when directed towards the brunette.

"Oh..." Takeba's eyes widen in relief, she doesn't seem to note the change in sis. "B-but um, thanks for yesterday."

She looks at me nervously, "Akihiko-senpai's injured too, and I was really uneasy about working alone with Mitsuru-senpai..."

"Mitsuru-senpai doesn't seem that bad though," Minako opinions quietly but covers it up with a smile, "But alright, u-um we can count on each other then!"

Takeba smiles, I don't.

"But..." the brunette's face becomes serious and worried, "I wonder when Senpai's injury is going to heal..."

"Well um, if he rests it wouldn't take that long right...?"

_"So long as it's not a major injury. Or he doesn't do something stupid like fight, not that he can."_ I muse in thought, motioning sis to hurry her pace up as we head to class.

I slept through the entire school day, not caring about the warnings teachers gave. I perk up when I hear voices long after the bell.

"I thought I was going to fall asleep in there..." I hear someone yawn out.

A giggling voice responded, "Ni-chan did that's for sure."

"Mm," I stretch back in my seat, "I'm up, I'm up."

I get a light laugh out of sis, feeling a small smile tug on my lips.

The door opens, "Can I have a minute?"

It was Kirijo's voice. I look over to the door where she stood, still shrouded with that icy aura. Though I didn't trust her as I keep studying her, I felt there was something I could manage to trust; her unfaltering determination and devotion.

It was only for what, I needed to question and be wary of.

"Come to the lounge when you get back to the dorm. I have something to tell everyone." her face is stern and business-like, "I'll save the details for later. See you there."

The elder leaves, closing the door behind her.

"Wow, that was fast..." I nod in agreement with Minako, that really was quick. I almost smile, impressed. It was quite admirable, getting the job done and moving on to other matters.

I hear Takeba sigh again, I almost sighed back in response.

This constant sighing was starting to get to me.

"She's probably busy with things like the Student Council, unlike us." I felt the venom in Takeba's voice. I figured part of her blamed Kirijo family as a whole for her past, reflecting on the bits of her story she shared with me. How childish.

"Whoa, Yuka-tan!" Iori jumps up, laughing. "Do I sense some hostility?"

If you couldn't then you would have to be stupid.

"Well, it's not that I don't like her..." Takeba mutters, "She's just..."

She pauses trying to figure out what to say. She changes the topic instead.

"N-never mind. Let's just go Minako-chan." Takeba grabs Minako by the arm, dragging her away.

"E-eh, um okay? I guess I'll u-uh see you guys later?!"

"The hell." I hiss and grab my things, giving an absent minded wave to Iori.

Leaving to chase after them, I ended up losing them to my annoyance. I eventually end up at Iwatodai's strip mall, seeing them only a few meters away from me. I stop when hearing Takeba speak up.

"A-about earlier... It's not like I don't like her or anything, y'know?" Takeba stares at the ground as she talks, "Oh, I'm taking about Mitsuru-senpai..."

"A-alright..."

"Why's Junpei always have to talk about stuff that isn't his business!?"

_"That's partly true, but you do the exact same. Along with assume."_ I muse, continuing to listen to Takeba's rather unnecessary ranting.

"Plus, he says it all in the creepiest, most perverted way. He's like the poster boy for sexual harassment."

"E-eh, but-"

"You know, last year he..."

"Yukari-chan! I'm sure Jun-chan isn't like that..." I could see Minako's face flushed either embarrassed by yelling suddenly or angry from a friend being talked badly about. She did seem to warm up to Iori rather quickly, and though I still wanted to make sure if he was someone that would hurt her.

I had no reasons to doubt the other as her friend, seeing how happy and bright she was with him.

Though so long as he stayed as a friend that is.

"Ahem." I walk up behind them.

"O-oh! Onii-chan!" Minako's face brightens at me, her eyes screaming help. She steps happy with relief to my side, putting me between her and Takeba. I see Takeba stiffen under my gaze.

"M-minato-kun..." the other looks away from me, "O-oh that's right we should probably head back to the dorms..."

I grunt, and sis clings on my arm as we awkwardly head back.

I wanted to sigh loudly.

x

*"*"*

Seeing there was no one in the lounge, the three of us headed upstairs to what Yukari called the command room. It was the same room from last night, and we see Mitsuru-senpai and Ikutsuki-san sitting down on the couches while Akihiko-senpai was standing nearby the door.

Mitsuru-senpai gives us a kind, loud welcome. Though it still held her mature grace, it felt quite warming to me.

"We're back." I smile.

"We were waiting for you," I put my gaze at Akihiko-senpai, "There's someone I wanna introduce."

"Huh?" Yukari seems puzzled, did that mean she didn't know either?

"Hey hurry up!" Akihiko calls outside the door, Yukari and I look at him puzzled.

Minato was uninterested, that was until he heard someone yell back.

"Hold your horses... This is freakin' heavy!"

I turn completely around, my face beaming at the voice. I run when I see the familiar blue cap.

"Jun-chan!" I laugh and give my friend a big hug, making him drop his luggage- _"Wait luggage?_" I felt my face beam brighter, feeling almost giddy with delight.

He returns my hug, giving me a hearty laugh. "Wazzup?"

"J-Junpei!?" Yukari nearly screams in horror, "...Why are YOU here!?"

"This is Junpei Iori from class 2-F," I smile brighter listening to Akihiko-senpai explain, "He'll be staying here as of today."

"He's staying HERE!? You've got to be kidding me!"

"I bumped into him the other night. He has the potential, but he just awakened to it recently..." Akihiko gestures to Jun-chan, "I told him about us and he agreed to help."

"You have the potential!? For real!?" I frown at how bewildered Yukari's voice was, Jun-chan isn't that bad.

"He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins." I laugh hard, picturing the moment. "H-hey I don't remember much, but I know that's embarrassing! Sheesh, you don't have to laugh so hard!"

"M-my stomach I can't!" I let go of Jun-chan, to hold my stomach. Still laughing all the while.

"A-akihiko-senpai said that's, ya know," Jun-chan stammered trying to defend himself, "Completely normal in the beginning!"

"What peeing your pants!?" I laugh harder at my own comment.

"What no-! Like being confused and not remembering anything. Didn't you know that?"

I stop laughing and look at him, with wide eyes.

"Really?"

"Uh, yeah? Aren't you a Persona-user?" I don't answer but Jun-chan starts talking again, "But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys."

In the corner of my eye I see Minato shrug, slightly. Almost like he was approving of something, which puzzled me.

"I had no idea," Jun-chan continues talking but he continues with a grin, "I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get lonely, ya know."

Unconsciously I nod to this, agreeing with him.

"I bet you're stoked too, right!? Havin' me join..."

I grin at him brightly, giggling with joy. "Glad to have you!" I throw another hug at him, "Let's do our best!"

He ruffles my hair lightly with his own chuckle, "You can count on me!"

Seriously gotta love the guy, though I knew him for only a short time. I felt as comfortable with him as I did with brother, making it feel great to have him as a friend.

"Well enough with the introductions," Akihiko-senpai speaks up again, "I think we're about ready..."

"Okay everybody's here." Ikutsuki-san finally speaks up, "I'd like your undivided attention."

I unwrap my arm from Jun-chan so we could all settle down on the couches.

"For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had. But," he smiles, "That number recently jumped to six. Therefore, starting tonight at twelve a.m I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartuarus."

"Tartarus...? What's that? Sounds like toothpaste." I almost burst into tears again laughing at Jun-chan, this whole thing looked better already; knowing two people I could trust were with me. Both Minato and Jun-chan, I beam at this.

"You haven't seen it Junpei?" Yukari sighs again.

The said people and me look at Yukari, completely confused. (Though brother was staring blankly with more annoyance then anything.)

"It's no surprise, since it only appears during the Dark Hour." Ikutsuki-san assures us.

"The Dark Hour...?"

"Jun-chan that's when you were peeing your pants 'member?" I giggle lightly at him, he grumbles at that.

"Just like the shadows..." I freeze, "Interesting, huh? And it's the perfect place for us to train."

I gulp. _"Train?"_

"You can think of it as a Shadow nest."

"Whoa..." Jun-chan gasps, "Their nest, huh?"

"But, senpai... What about your injury?" Yukari looked at the injured elder with a worry glance.

"Since Akihiko hasn't fully recovered yet," I tense from the icy anger in Mitsuru-senpai's voice, "He'll only as far as the entrance."

The said other grumbled in response, "...Yeah, I know."

"Relax, I've got your backs!" I relax at this, feeling more comfortable. Getting away from this cold, harsh and rather heavy atmosphere.

"I'm not so sure about this..." Yukari mutters quietly.

"I'll be staying here, as I can't summon a Persona." Ikutsuki-san adds, "Now off you all go, good luck!" He flashes us a smile, I noticed brother was silent was glaring at him coldly.

"Remember my conditions Ikutsuki." Ikutsuki-san smiles at the words brother spat heavily, giving him a slight nod; almost like he was mocking him, or us.

It was really strange, he growls and leaves the room before me.

Minato ended up dropping by our room. Coming down to the front, carrying a large grayish-blue gym bag strapped on his right shoulder. I wasn't happy, and frown at him.

"I-is that..." I stare at the bag, Minato just huffs. Being the only answer I need, I frown deeper and pout at him. "I thought I told you to throw those things out."

"Useless go, useful stay." he twirled a finger in the air playfully, and slipped his left arm in my right, linking us together. The bandaged fingers laced loosely in my own, I drag Jun-chan's right arm into my free arm without any input from the other. I hum contently being between the two as we walk out.

Not noticing the almost venomous glances from behind as we head to where ever this Tartarus was.

_"I wonder what Tartarus means..."_

x

*"*"*

We're standing in front of Gekkoukan's gates, I question Kirijo with a glance.

"This is it?" Junpei voices my questions for me, "THIS is the place? Why HERE?"

"Just wait it's almost midnight..." Sanada answers, I growl at his excited eyes.

_"Blood thirsty muscle-head..."_

And with a flash the world shifts again, green drowning us and smell of iron shrouding us. But...

I stare up, completely caught off guard.

This was new.

The floor begun rumbling under our feet, but my eyes stay focused on the school building or what was the school building. As it rises upward; twisting and bulging. Turning into a ginormous tower, no longer resembling the school. In fact I wasn't sure what it was, it was like a mesh of different buildings trying sto mimic a clock tower with multiple clock faces but the largest and highest clock face was snapped in half, and the tower seemed more like a castle for some evil queen or lord in some kind of fantasy story...

I'm starting to think I read Minako too many of those stories in the past.

I look to the entrance, the gates of the school remained but behind was a shimmering-blue clock standing with four large pillars. It stood within the cherry trees, as if it was natural and suppose to be there.

"This is Tartarus-" Kirijo speaks up within the group's awe, "The labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour."

"Labyrinth...?" Junpei questions the scarlet elder, "What are you talking about!?"

I look at the tower. It was surprising if it was a giant maze, seeing how tall the tower stretched. It looked like there were, no there had to be hundreds of floors in this Tartarus.

"T-the school!" I hear sis gasp, I look down at her. Her wide blood-red eyes reflecting blue light, it was dazzling. I give her a soft pat on the head, assuring her I would protect her if this was dangerous.

_"Though Tartarus... A tower named hell..."_ I scowl, it probably will be dangerous. I tighten the grip on my heavy bag, while keeping my burned fingers still laced softly in Minako's.

"Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal." Kirijo speaks up.

"This is the 'nest' you were talking about!?" Junpei sounded ecstatic, I silently pray he doesn't act like this when he realizes the danger.

Sis didn't need to become hurt again. I wouldn't let anything hurt her again.

"But why!?" Junpei continues to go on, "Why'd our school turn into a giant tower!?"

Silence answered.

"You don't know," I look at Kirijo's unmoving expression, "That's why you want to explore it."

Silence again.

"I'm sure it's complicated." Takeba speaks up.

"Well, maybe now we'll find out." Sanada adds, answering my second point. He has that smirk on his face, "Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek, this will be our first time exploring it."

The next part made me want to punch him.

"Exciting isn't it?"

I don't, only for Minako's fingers as they clutch a little tighter on mine. She knows me well, as much as I know her.

"There has to be some sort of clue in here about the Dark Hour..."

"Akihiko." to my pleasure Kirijo spoke again with a cold commanding voice, "I respect your enthusiasm, but you won't be accompanying us today."

The silver-head's smirk drops, disappointment and annoyance replacing his excitement.

I almost laugh.

Almost.

x

"Beautiful..." is the first word that comes out of sis' lips, I feel her fingers slip out of my hand as she walks around the strange lobby of the tower. It was a simple round lobby, a straight-forward blue-rug that led up towards a floating staircase where a large golden clock that seemed to have a mysterious aura flowing out beneath its arms.

"This is only the entrance." I turn to Kirijo, "The labyrinth lies beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs."

"First we'll have you four get a feel for this place." Sanada adds on, "Why don't you go have a look around?"

"What!?" Takeba nearly screams in my ear, I almost bite at her with a vicious glare. "By ourselves!?"

"We're not asking you to go very far," Kirijo answers while my ears still ring, "and I'll be feeding you information from here."

"We're also going to appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions." I see Sanada glancing at me and my sister.

"For real?" Junpei seems almost taken back, "...One of us?" He grins widely when he snaps out of his trance, jumping with excitement. "Oh! Oh! Me me me! Pick me!"

Sanada looks at Junpei with a grumble then at Minako, who was still mesmerized by our surroundings. I move in between her and Sanada's gaze.

"You are _not_ making Nee-san the leader," I spit at him with a glare, "I'll take charge in her steed."

"E-eh YOU?" Takeba looks at me with wary, while the rest are surprised even sis.

"H-huh what-?" she peers by my side.

"Wha...? You were going to make her the leader? B-but she's a girl!"

I give Junpei a blank stare.

"Minato," I almost hiss at the elder male using my first name so casually, "I was going to pick you as the leader but..." The male stares with his silver eyes towards my bandaged hand.

"Minor burns Sanada," I deadpan, "and though Nee-san is capable of leading, I rather be the leader." Minako fidgets at my side, uncomfortable.

"But I saw she IS powerful... " Takeba clearly didn't seem to enjoy the idea of me being the leader, it be couldn't helped after what I said to her a only a few days prior. "And she HAS fought them before too..."

"Seriously?" Junpei gawks at the both of us with an almost laughable mix of surprise, worry and a hint of envy. But most of all he stares at my hand, almost like he just realized the bandages that were wrapped around my fingers and arm.

"That's true but, there's another reason." Sanada makes a gesture with his hand, raising to his head like a pistol. "You two, can you summon your Persona without any difficulties like they can?"

He makes a bang motion, emphasizing what he means: Can you shoot yourself.

"Y-yeah of course I can!" Junpei stutters, obviously lying.

"I think so." Takeba answers clearly, she had more time to get over the idea than Junpei. So it should be natural to be able to, I nod to myself. Studying them both.

"These are shadows we're talking about here." Sanada's expression becomes stern and serious, "Without your Persona, you're screwed."

"Which is why I'm taking lead." I stare at the elder, not backing down even under his hard expression. "First, I am not letting _my_ sister go on the front lines to fight those... Things."

"Shadows." Minako mutters, looking at the ground while fiddling with my sleeve.

"Shadows." I correct myself, "Secondly, I know how to fight. Shadow or not, I know how to survive in a good, hard fight."

Everyone looks at me, I drop my bag on the ground. Minako sighs deeply and crouches down on the ground.

"You can fight...?" Sanada's eyes disgustingly shine at me.

"Aggression phase." I let the emotion in my face drain as I bend down to unzip my bag.

As children, after the accident that made us lose our parents. Making us alone. Even if we stayed together and were technically never alone, we were still stranded and lost by ourselves. And though, we had each other we felt like there was no one with us. It was rather frustrating when young, not getting straight answers. Not being told where our family, our parents were; why my own sister was scared of me as if I was a stranger or even a monster going to hurt her. I forced all of it out: the angry, the grief, and my confusion. In the only way I knew how as a child: fighting and pain.

I only snapped out of it when I finally realized how stupid I was being, how alone I really was making myself; making us. How much I was hurting Minako, who suffered so much already. Seeing everyone as a stranger, even herself.

I hiss away the memory, cursing at the same time. Too many nastier memories resurfacing back up lately since we arrived in this town.

Unzipping the my bag, I grab out a sheathed sword; it wasn't too long but longer than the short sword I carried nights ago. I grab two small daggers, shoving them in my pockets with their guards on.

"W-whoa, dude where'd you get those!?" I stare over to Junpei.

"He... Collected them." Minako answers, with displeasure written all over her face. "I told him to throw them out too..."

"Again, useless go and useful stay." I said half-truth, as though owning weapons has somewhat of an advantage; there were probably more disadvantages.

Not that I would admit that. Besides I did throw out some of them, granted I kept some that I thought looked nice or were good to use still.

"Hmm, well I don't see anything wrong with that but your arm is still in questionable-" I cut Kirijo off.

"I said just light burns, majority of them are on my shoulder but even those are healing up." I unwrap the white cloth off my fingers, wiggling the bare flesh in the light. Showing off faint pink marks that were once burns. "There was pain only from the actual burning, and when I woke up. As stiff muscles and burns don't exactly go well together."

I stare, waiting for their answer.

Kirijo sighs at me, "Alright, but if I deem it necessary you will back down and I would like to talk to you later, about your... Collection."

She stares at my bag, displeased in another sense than Minako.

I heard Junpei grumble, I almost laugh at the other. Sis really knew how to pick her friends, though I hoped he wouldn't let a title of leader get in the way of teamwork. I also hoped that he didn't think being a leader was actually something great, it was a heavy responsibility on your shoulders. And seeing from how he acted so far, it didn't seem exactly fitting for him; to lead in battle.

"All right, let's head inside. Are you ready?"


	7. Leading

To be honest I've had to split a few chapters, so this is technically chapter five in my plans. Wow.  
I've also given up and been painfully following along two separate playthroughs of the game.  
Though majority of this is more lined towards the female route, as I want to have more room to work with for Minato. Along with it's still fresh in my mind, as I went through it last.

Slowly we're getting to the parts I'm heavily changing.

But once more enjoy please! And please do note any errors I miss!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Leading**

"All right, let's head inside. Are you ready?"

"U-uh yeah?" my voice is shaky and nervous when I answer. Dead give away, luckily enough it was too hushed for the other to hear. I pretend to clear my throat and cough, "You betcha!"

"That's the spirit." Akihiko-senpai chuckles at my terrible cover up, he must be a little slow when it comes to people.

The elder tells us to pick out weapons, opening a separate bag from brother's.

Yukari took a light practice bow with a quiver of arrows, fitting well cause of her archery club and Jun-chan picked out large sword that I would never dream of touching. It was longer than brother's sword and he needed to carry it with two hands to keep it straight, it looked really heavy. Though I realized when I looked closely it was just an imitation just like the thing I held in my hands.

Which I glared hard at, the naginata was grasped in my palms. I wished hard for it to just burst into flames and disappear along with the silver gun that was strapped to my waist. Even though both were fake, they felt too heavy for me to hold onto and made my stomach knot from holding things like weapons on me.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I feel warmth grow in my pocket, scaring me horrendously. Nearly making me yelp.

"Shh," Minato's head is next to my ear and a finger on my lip, "Do you see that, over to the left."

My red irises glance to the left of the staircase, a door was hiding just a little ways from being seen.

Velvet.

I nod slightly, answering him. I pick through my pocket that was layered with warmth now; my fingers feeling at warm steel, shaped as key.

_"Velvet door so... Is this?"_ I ponder as I take the warm steel out of my pocket. Minato waves his own key in his left hand, the blue made his lighter flesh stand out even more from his normal tan-color skin. Both of the keys in our hand were shining, drawn towards the door.

"Should we...?" he shrugs at me, and walks towards the door. Only turning back at in front of it, waiting for my decision.

I follow, and we open the door together.

Blue-velvet fills my eyesight, the sound of clunking and clattering of gears begin to thump around.

And in front of us, sitting on a velvet couch behind of a velvet cloth'd table; was Igor. Who seemed quite delighted to see us.

"I've been waiting for you." he seems ecstatic from the way his voice is, "The time has come for you to wield your power. The tower that you are about to venture into..."

_"Tartarus?"_

"How did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist?" Those were the exact questions everyone else had, so did Igor know? My eyes perk with interest.

"Ah, regrettably," I frown at his words, "You two are not yet capable of answering these questions."

"What do you mean?" I glance over to brother, his face no longer blank. Emotions swarming it, and his eyes shine with frustration but curiosity.

The man in front smiles eerily at brother, "You two must first be made aware of the nature of your power."

"The power that's boundless?" the man chuckles at me.

"Yes, your powers are unique. It's like the number zero..." he looks at Minato, "It's empty, but at the same time holds infinite possibilities."

His eyes focus on me next.

"Both of you are able to possess multiple Personas at the and summon them as needed. And when you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you."

A child's voice came rang in the back of my mind: _a power that takes many forms, yet is bound by none. It may prove to be your salvation, depending on where you end up._

I frown deeper, not understanding the boy's last words. _"What did he mean by salvation...?"_

"There may be times when they are difficult to grasp... But, do not fear." his smile becomes softer, "Seize what you have earned."

I tilt my head at him, utterly lost.

"Your power will grow accordingly... Be sure to keep that in mind."

I hear Minato mumble quietly, but I couldn't make it out.

Igor laugh rings in the elevator, "My spare time will soon be scarce. But, please come again of your own accord. I'll tell you then about my true role... the manner in which I can best assist you."

He pauses, to think.

"Ah, but before I forget..." he looks towards me, "Do you recall when I mentioned other residents of this room...?"

I nod at him, his eyes smile in delight.

"These two, are Elizabeth and Theodore." the suited man waves a gloved hand in the air, calling two people dressed in blue uniforms. One male and one female, both were stunningly beautiful. With eyes a sharp yellow that stood out from their near-white skin and hair.

The male one, I assumed as Theodore had his hair slicked back and a blue hat on top and wore a blue suit and tie with black dress pants, shoes and white gloves. He stood with a refined manner as he introduced himself.

"My name is Theodore, but please feel free to call me Theo."

The other one, a female stood with a cheery smile placed on her . She like Theodore wore a blue uniform only it was a one-piece dress, and she had blue gloves and boots instead.

"Pleased to meet you."

"I-it's nice to meet you too!" I nod at them, "I'm Minako and this is my brother Minato!" brother gives huff and short bow with his head in return, they smile in response.

Letting Igor continue, "My assistants will aid you as well, until then farewell..."

"Hey," I snap my head to the side, seeing Yukari's flustered face. "Are you alright?"

"H-huh?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Jun-chan peers at my other side startling me, "You look like a zombie."

"...Zombie?" I blink, wait wasn't I just in the Velvet Room with brother? I put my gaze back over to Minato, his eyes were blank and dazed. Not that they usually weren't, but this seemed almost like he was soulless.

I panic and nudge him a little, his shoulders flinch slightly and his eyes refocus. He looks at me a bit startled and his face tints faintly with red.

"Do you see a door..." brother covers his mouth with his fingers, thinking hard.

"H-huh? What door...?" Yukari looks at brother, eyes completely lost and disbelieving.

"...Uh, I don't see any door." Jun-chan stares hard at the walls nearby, he shrugs at me.

They can't see it?

"...Never mind, forget I asked."

"Come on man, you're s'posed to be our leader." for a second I worried that Jun-chan was being spiteful from his tone, "Don't worry though! I got you covered whenever you need it, man!"

I giggle, silently sighing with relief that he's okay with brother; I don't know how I would be able to stand seeing either of them fight.

"I'll do the same for you," I smile at his grin, "Don't worry Jun-chan! Ko-tan is here and all your worries and secrets are safe..." I chuckle mischievously at him, "Minus your lil' accident of peeing your pants."

He groans, "Ko-tan I did NOT pee my pants man."

I laugh forgetting the fact we were heading inside a nest of danger, of death.

Walking through the misty veil that poured under the giant hands of the clock that were frozen in place.

x

*"*"*

The halls were drenched with a grotesque green, much like outside. The black and white checkered floor tiles were decorated with splotches of red; blood. A nauseating scent of iron and rotting flesh filled the air, making my insides twist.

Minako, was of course drained of any possible color in her skin.

"So, this is it huh...?" Junpei's face was more serious then I've ever seen it so far, though in his eyes I could tell there was a glint of excitement for the other.

"I hope I don't get lost..." Takeba makes a valid comment, re-noting the fact Kirijo had called the Tartarus a labyrinth.

"_-Can you all hear me?-_"

_"Speak of the devil."_ I muse in my head.

"Whoa! Is that you senpai?" Junpei looks around, as if he was expecting Kirijo to be with us somewhere. Technically she was, just most likely below us.

"_-I'll be providing audio backup from here on out, my Persona's ability allows me to see inside from where I am. I would like to join you but the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day. That's why outside support is imperative.-_"

_"That was reassuring to know,"_ I roll my eyes, unamused and uninterested.

"Well THAT makes me feel a whole lot better..." I hear Takeba's grumbling again, I sigh quietly.

"_-Now based on your current location, you can expect to encounter enemies at any minute. They should be too tough but proceed with caution, practice makes perfect.-_" Kirijo adds on, before completely cutting out for the time.

"Why is she always like that...?" I don't even bother looking at Takeba as she huffs, I look at Junpei and Minako.

"Takeba," the girl's feet shuffle, "If you mind I would like to discuss strategy."

"H-huh? Strategy?" Minako looks at me with a rather annoyed but relieved face.

"Strategy." I repeat, "From what I saw those thing- shadows, are nothing but mindless animals that I'm guessing will attack anything in sight that moves or makes loud noise. So keep in mind of staying out of sight and _quiet_." I put emphasis on the last part, mostly towards Junpei. Knowing how loud and energetic he can be.

I look dead-on at Junpei, "Junpei, I'm not sure about what your Persona just don't overdo it and seeing as you have a sword like me you're going to go in the front with me. Are you alright with that?" I notice sis' eyes perk up when I talk, I give her a light shrug with my shoulders.

Her friends are our friends.

Junpei blinks a few times before giving me a wide grin and thumbs up in response, "Hell yeah man, leave it to me!"

I turn to look at Takeba, she stiffens right away. "Takeba, seeing as you're an archer you stay in the back behind Nee-san. But keep in mind about your surroundings, same goes for you too." I glance at my sister, she smiles and nods; understanding right away.

"U-um okay..."

I shrug and turn around unsheathing my sword, the silver gun in its holster around my waist.

"The last more thing, pull back immediately if you're hurt or feel like you're in danger. I am not here to make this tower live up to its name."

"Its name?"

"...Nee-san I told you about before, Tartarus in Greek mythology is basically hell."

"O-oh, okay." her voice squeaks, nervous.

"Alright now follow not too far but don't cluster all together, it'll be easier to be spotted if we're bunched up but it's worse to be alone and surrounded." I take a few steps up in the bloody hallways.

"M-man how are you so natural at this Ni-chan..."

"Both real fighting and video games." silence, "The last one was a joke."

x

The very first thing we find is a silver briefcase that gleamed brightly in the dead halls.

Suspicious, why was there a briefcase practically brand-new sitting somewhere named after hell.

Not that it stopped Junpei from poking at it, making the case pop open with two vials of strange powder.

"Snuff soul... U-um..." Minako studies the vials, before grabbing them, "This one says medicine so I guess it's alright...? I'm not too sure about this snuff soul thing though..."

"Just keep them for now, we can ask Kirijo about it later." I gesture my free-hand to her, asking her to give me one vial. She passes me the medicine vial, pocketing the snuff soul one. We continue moving on forward through the halls.

"_-Watch out! I detect a shadow in front of you!-_" Kirijo buzzes in and I could make out the faint silhouette of some kind of blob growled lowly, mindless crawling around. "_-Move in and hit it before it attacks you!-_"

I wait until the red orbs are out of sight, before I run in to slice at it. It screeched in pain, and a black mist poured out of it; revealing its new- or true form. A black puddle of goo with hands and that same blue-mask with a roman numeral one on it.

"Encircle it!" I give out command, keeping my eyes on the thing as Kirijo's voice comes back.

"_-I want you defeat the enemy before you, try using both regular attacks and skills!-_"

I almost sneer, this was beginning to sound like an actual game. "Got it." I respond with a calm tone, before slashing at the mesh of goo once more.

It cried in pain, but wasn't down.

"T-take this!" Takeba shot an arrow precisely straight at the mask, quite a feat but still not down.

"Alright here we go!" I fling my eyes at Junpei, when I hear the shattering glass. "HERMES!"

A large armored almost bird-like man appeared, decor'd in brown and gold with silver accents. Attached to its hands and feet were two large golden wings with metal feathers that were spanned together like a fan. The Persona jumped higher in the air and swooped downwards, fast at the shadow. Slicing at with it with its golden wings.

It still wasn't down, and crawled quickly towards Takeba with its hands- rather claws ready to strike.

"L-look out!" Minako pushes the brunette out of the way, and slice at the shadow hard with the naginata in her hands. It finally dispersed in a puff of black mist.

"T-thanks Minako-chan." Takeba rushes over to her, "A-are you alright?"

She nods in response, she looks over to Junpei. "Jun-chan that was really cool!" She claps, feeding the said other's ego an unhealthy amount of praise.

"_-Arisato,-_" I tune into Kirijo's voice as sis and Junpei chat, "_-There should be a staircase nearby. Do you see it?-_"

I glance up head, making out the said stairs. "They're right ahead."

"_-A staircase is the only way to proceed to the next floor. I can't allow you to go any higher today, but please remember about it next time.-_"

I curse at the _next time_. "I'll keep it in mind, are there anymore shadows nearby?" I look over at the others, they're contently chatting with themselves.

At least Minako was looking a bit better.

"_-Yes, there's another shadow somewhere ahead of you, try not to get noticed, getting attacked will leave you at a disadvantage so please keep that in mind as you proceed.-_"

I nod, trying to scan the halls for any puddles of goo. I spot one, crawling next to Junpei; ready to strike. I moved to open my mouth but it was too late.

He was hit.

Black claws ripped through the cloth on his leg, tearing along the skin with it. He let out a short yelp, clutching his injured leg trying to get away.

"Jun-chan!" Minako panicked, swinging the naginata at one of the shadows that came out. The veil of goo vanished into mist, leaving two separate shadows near the others.

I growl, grabbing the silver gun and fired it to my temple. Letting a jolt shock through my head and the sound of glass shatter loudly.

"ORPHEUS!" behind I could feel the mechanical man behind me, I hear strings ring out and a burst of flames hit one of the shadows. It seemed effective, as the hit shadow deflated in pain, unable to move. I focus again and pull the trigger once more, but this time I hear a voice; Orpheus' voice, hushing me with one word.

"AGI!" once more glass shattered and Orpheus was summoned, stringing a burst of flames at the other moving shadow. Both were now down and immobile. "Everyone who can, attack!"

Takeba shoots two arrows at one, then running in to whack at it with her bow. While Minako joined her with another few slices, boiling with anger and resentment.

I didn't even need to step in for that, as both of them were finished off easily.

"Jun-chan!" sis runs over to Junpei who was leaning on a wall, with his leg dripping blood. "A-ah we need to u-um first aid! Wrap? Bandages!?"

"Whoa! Ko-tan calm down! I'm alright, 'k?" Junpei gives a wearily smile, to mask his pain.

"Jeez Stupei, hold on..." Takeba walks over, lifting the gun to her forehead. Pausing a moment before she pulled the trigger, "DIA!"

Behind her a large cow-like head appeared, chained and seated on it was an charcoal woman with a short pink-dress and long blonde hair that flowed upwards. A soft green light glowed around the being, along with Takeba's hand as it hovered closely to Junpei's leg.

"W-whoa what are you doing Yuka-tan?" Junpei blinks, looking at his leg in awe. I saw the cuts were completely gone now, even I was surprised.

"_-That was Dia, a healing skill.-_" Kirijo popped in. "_-Before you continue let me give you a bit of information about attack properties.-_"_  
_

_"Couldn't she have told us this before we went in..."_ I tap my foot, slightly annoyed as I wait for her to continue.

"_-Nearly every type of attack is associated with a particular property, for example a blades can a be used to do slash attack while bows are pierce attacks.-_" simple enough, "_-Skill on the other hand, have different properties. 'Bufu' for instance indicates an ice attack, and Agi which is a fire attack. Most enemies are vulnerable to certain types of attacks. As you saw just now they have weaknesses.-_"

"What are the other skills, and is it possible to find the weakness without testing firsthand?" I raise an eyebrow, this really was turning out to be exactly like a game.

"_-With my power, I can analyze an enemy to determine its weakness and strengths. It'll take me a moment to analyze them completely but as you saw striking their weak point will make them vulnerable, allowing you to do an all-out attack. While some of the other properties for skills in, their basic forms are: Agi for fire, Bufu for ice, Zio for electricity, Garu for wind, Hama for light, Mudo for dark and than there are recovery skills such as Dia.-_"

"Alright got that," I look at Takeba, "Takeba you seem to be the only one who can use healing skills right now so be extra careful."

The girl shuffles on her feet, she looks away from me. Slightly confusing me, as I'm sure that wasn't intimidating that time.

"Alright let's continue with this formation, and Nee-san," red eyes look to me, "I know it's hard but try taking deep breaths and stay calm and quiet. Attracting more shadows isn't going to help, so please?"

She flusters but nods, whispering over to Junpei checking again if he was alright.

We proceed with no real harm, making our way through the floor easily. The only time anyone was injured was when Junpei was snuck up on.

However during the last battle I noticed my sister staring blanking in the air, then shaking her head, confused.

"Nee-san...?" I walk over to her, "Did you get hurt?" Suddenly a light cheerful giggle echoed somewhere nearby her, I blink confused.

"Oh no, I'm fine..." she mumbles, and fidgets on her toes, "H-how long are we staying here..."

"_-You're almost there, though it is odd... Usually more shadows are on the prowl. There should be one more group of shadows ahead and head back to the dorm afterwards. I'll tell you the details after you get through this battle.-_"

I huff, annoyed again. I could see the exhaustion on most of us, even felt my body tire out. I notice my sister fidget, she was probably feeling bad that everyone fought with skills, with their Personas. Expect her.

"Nee-san, come on we're almost there." I give her a light pat on the head, smiling at her warmly.

"Y-yeah but..."

"TAKE THIS!" Junpei's yell made her jump, we both turn to see he was hacking at four shadows. Or as Kirijo said, cowardly mayas.

"Stupei! What are you doing!" Takeba follows with her own attacks, supporting him.

I curse, and run to Junpei's side; slashing away one of the mayas with my weapon.

"ORPHEUS!" I summon him, having him string out another agi. I huff, feeling my legs go shaky. I was positive that I wouldn't be able to handle another call for Orpheus, I stiffen my posture and hold the sword out.

"Junpei! I'm not going to be able to summon out another Agi, so be careful same goes for you both in the back!" I call out, as I strike out one of the four shadows. Leaving only three growling at us, threatening us with their inhuman hands.

I felt my knees give, losing my balance.

"S-shit-" I hold the blade up to cover myself from one claw striking out at me.

It claws at the hilt of the sword, where my hand was gashed open. Making my blood spill out on parts of my scarred skin. I hiss and swing the sword hard, quickly grabbing one of the small daggers in my pocket to jam it hard into the shadow's mask. Having it scream in pain, clutching its _'head'_ before it burst away into nothing. The dagger clattering on the ground, I don't move to grab it instead I quickly retract away from the remaining ones.

I wince over my hand.

"CLEAVE!" Hermes swoops down hitting the remaining ones, causing them to scramble apart.

"N-ni-chan! H-hold on!" I hear glass shatter and my eyes spin towards Minako, who had a small fairy dressed in blue, fluttered happily behind her. "P-pixie! Dia please!"

I feel a warmth envelope around me, feeling the stinging pain wash away from my hand.

"T-thank you...!" Minako smiles fondly at the fairy behind her, who giggled in response.

It was the same giggle I heard before.

_"But didn't she have a different Persona...?"_ I wondered of the mechanical lady that first appeared for her, which resembled Orpheus. I get thrown out of my thoughts when two cards flip in front of me, one had a picture the same fairy as before and another with a lady fashioned in blue and white. I hesitantly grab one after the cards shuffled, it turned over and it was the blue lady.

A woman's voice echos in my head.

"_I__ am Apsaras, I shall help be your guide._"

I felt a light refreshing sensation in my heart, part of my fatigue disappearing with it.

"Minako-chan you can use dia too?" I'm jostled back to reality.

"Y-yeah..." sister's red eyes are focused at me, "C-can we leave this place now...? I feel really sick..."

"You LOOK sick Ko-tan," Junpei goes at her side, "Are you alright? Why didn't you tell senpai you were feeling sick?"

"She's sick cause of the tower," I answer and move on not wanting to touch about that, it wasn't my place to say. "Kirijo! We're finished, please explain how we leave."

"_-Alright good, you've gained enough experience for today. Now there should be an access point somewhere on that floor. Since there aren't any enemies to worry about, why don't you split up and search individually?-_"

"Nee-san?" I look at her.

"I'm good, another few minutes is fine," she groans as she puts a hand to cup her mouth and nose, "But anymore than that I'm ready to hurl..."

I saw Takeba and Junpei flinch disgusted by the thought.

"Alright split up, but Nee-san you're staying with me. I don't want you fainting somewhere alone." she grumbles at me, nodding at me with her pale face.

We split up, looking for the access point.

"I found the it! Over here!" Takeba calls out, only moments later to my relief.

"Thank god..." Minako leans on my back, queasy from everything reeking of blood. She buries her head into my jacket.

I chuckle at her, kneeling down at her protest, gesturing for her to get on my back.

She eventually does, with her head leaning gently on the nape of my neck and arms wrapped loosely around it whiles knees locked in my arms.

"Junpei! We're heading back!"

x

*"*"*

"Welcome back." my eyes take a second to readjust from seeing a bright flash, I see we're standing in the entrance of the tower again. With Mitsuru-senpai standing in front of us with a smile. "So, how was it?"

"I got sick from the smell." I wrinkle my nose, still feeling nauseous. "I'm fine other than that though." I bury my face into brother's neck, breathing in his smell to comfort me.

"No problem, other than that really." brother murmured, I felt him hold in a laugh as my breath tickled the back his neck.

"I see," she smiles, "If you gained confidence that's the best thing you could have achieved."

"Wow... I never knew I had that kinda power!" I giggle at Jun-chan's excitement.

"Ni-chan you can let me down now, I feel a bit better." Brother hums as he bends down, letting me off easily.

"But damn," I stand up on my own feet, "I'm beat."

"That's cuz you were bounin' around like a little kid."

"You look pretty tired yourself, Yuka-tan."

"I'm still trying to catch my breath, actually..." I look at Yukari, and her face was tinted red with exhaustion.

"Feeling fatigue is normal," brother starts, I look at Jun-chan and nod in agreement.

"Mhm," I continue for him, "When you move around at first it feels a lot harder than usual, but after a while you'll get used to it!"

"Wait so you've moved around during this time before?" Jun-chan looks at me bewildered, I give him a wry smile.

"For ten years." his eyes widen at me.

"W-whoa, but-"

"Personas are new to us, along with this tower but seeing the Dark Hour and shadows aren't. And we manage to avoid shadows before so we never really fought them," brother's voice drops, "It would have been better that way too..."

"You all did much better than I expected," Mitsuru-senpai gets our attention again, "At this rate, they'll catch up to in no time, Akihiko."

The other senpai gave a chuckle, "We'll see about that."

"S-so are we going to be going back there...?" worry fills my eyes, I wasn't going to last if we went everyday.

"No." brother speaks up first, "Takeba and Junpei aren't properly adjusted to the Dark Hour and even if you're properly adjusted to the Dark Hour, summoning your persona is draining. So we'll go only on days when we're fit to go."

"Yes, that is fine. Keeping your group's condition in mind is quite responsible."

Minato shrugs, and we head back to the dorms to finally get some sleep.

As we walked out I felt something inside me stir, a raspy whisper raced through my mind.

Chilling me to the bone.

_**Are you scared...?**_

I shake my head, trying to calm down and walk a little closer to brother.


	8. Promise

Short chapter before getting into social links, the bane of this fiction for me. You'll be seeing a lot of changes for the social links, and obviously we're not going to go through every detail for the social links. (If I did then this fiction would never end or it would be over a hundred chapters, ah...)

I apologize if I'm going a little slower with updates. I've been tormenting myself with scanning through some previous chapters of simple mistakes I missed before.  
There's also the fact I've lost a fair bit of my spare time to work, but I do hope you enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Promise**

4/22

"Morning," I turn my head drowsily while clinging onto Minato's arm, I see Akihiko-senpai with his arm still in that sling. Though it looked like it was getting better, as there were light wraps and his shoulder was less stiff.

"Good morning, senpai." I smile softly at him.

"I didn't know we were on the same train. But man, things have been crazy these past couple of days. Are you two alright? You must be confused since the two of you just transferred here too."

I shake my head at him, "It's fine Senpai, we're used to it."

_"Besides going out fighting..."_ I almost sigh from the thought.

"Oh, it's been decided that both of you are going to be the leaders for a while, by the way you both fought was impressive."

I laugh dryly, waving the senior good bye before he runs off to the school.

_"Wait...Is he allowed to run while still injured?"_

"Hey you're Minato right?" I hear Minato grunt and I take peek past his arm, over to his side. Seeing a male student with light brown hair and dark brown eyes.

"Yeah, why."

The male laughs, giving us a friendly smile, "Man, I knew it. I heard from Junpei that you're pretty close with Yukari-san...What's up with that?"

Brother grumbles at him, it doesn't seem like the other doesn't notices me.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm looking for someone with a little more experience anyway." I feel brother make a low growl, "By the way, I'm Kenji Tomochika."

"...Hello?" I peer my head past brother's arm, he nearly jumps at me.

"W-whoa, I'm guessing you're Minako?" the male, Kenji smiles at me with his eyes wide in surprise.

I nod sheepishly.

"Oh, there's a morning assembly, so we better hurry." the boy grins at me.

Brother quickens the pace making way to the auditorium, dragging me along with him.

x

"...However, change cannot occur without sustained effort and an unprecedented level of commitment. That is why we must restructure our daily lives to accommodate this lofty goal. I like each of you to dig deeply into your well of motivation and re-evaluate your convictions..." the mature icy voice echos through the speakers, "To imagine a bold new future without losing sight of the realities around you. That is the key. I am certain that many of you have your own visions of the future... For us to reap the full benefits of our education, your participation, ideas and enthusiasm are essential. Thank you."

I rub my eyes sleepily, barely staying up through the assembly. Everyone around me applauds, though half-asleep I follow. slowly clapping my hands lightly, with a weary smile.

"Dang..." I hear Jun-chan speak up beside me, "That was freakin' amazing..." I look over to him, his face was written in awe. "Hey, did you uh, understand what she was talking about?"

I yawn loudly, but nod at him.

"Huh? Seriously? Man you're smart, that sure didn't sound like something a high schooler would say..."

I giggle, "Jun-chan I was half-asleep for Mitsuru-senpai's speech, it's just basically don't give up on your dreams but don't be stupid and stay in school sorta thing."

I stand up to shake brother awake, he groggily gets up to stretch.

Walking out of the auditorium like a zombie, only to fall back asleep in class once he reached his seat.

"He is so lucky I love him enough to take notes for him..." I grumble under my breath, listening to Ms. Toriumi start class.

"All right, today we'll be going over Meji-era literature. Open your textbooks to page 12... You know what? I'm tired of these textbooks. I just went over this novel in the last class. I've got a great poem we can cover instead. Close your textbooks and listen everyone..."

I perk up, closing my textbook and tuning in on Ms. Toriumi's poem.

"Isolated cloud suspended over the tall snowy mountain peak..." I listen contently to her poem, but she stops abruptly looking angry. "All right, Kenji, you better not be sleeping back there!"

I make a quick glance over to brother's seat, his head was positioned to look like he was listening with his eyes peacefully closed but in reality he was just dozing off.

_"Really too good at that."_

"You should be ashamed of yourself taking a nap while I pour my heart out into reading this poem," if only she realized brother was doing the same right now, "For that, you get another essay along with your regular assignment tonight! I'll expect a slice of cake when you turn it in too! And don't cheap it out with the store- bought stuff like last time!"

I take note to never cross the woman's temper in class, or anywhere for that matter.

Ever.

x

When the bell finally rings and I let out a sigh of relief, crashing my head on the desk out of exhaustion.

"I'm so tired I could just sleep for a year..." I feel someone tap my shoulder, I give my most intimidating growl.

I get a chuckle as a response. I grumble in return, burying my head into my arms.

I let out a surprised squeak, feeling arms wrap under me to lift me up. I'm tossed with ease into into his arm, scooping my legs in one arm and letting my back arch into the other.

Minato was carrying me in a bridal fashion.

"N-Ni-chan!" I cover my burning face with my hands, "P-Put me down! I am NOT a baby!"

"You are mine." I feel my ears burning with that, I glare between my fingers at the roaring laughter next to us.

"Jun-chan _shut up_."

"This is priceless!" he chokes out, still laughing hard to bring out tears.

"Not as priceless as peeing your pants. In _PUBLIC_ too." I smirk when his laughter is choked off from how loud and emphasized I made the last part.

"I, HEY!" his face pales and a light red tints his cheeks, "I'm not the one clinging on her bro's shoulders all romantically!"

I stare at him, thinking.

"Hey, hey! What's with that face-?"

I snort, eyeing him with a devious smirk.

"Nee-san, I am not carrying Junpei."

I click my tongue at brother, he figured me out too fast.

"Ko-tan what the hell were you thinking... Actually never mind don't answer that, man."

I giggle at my friend, as I was finally set down to grab my bag so we could head out.

"You never know, it COULD be romantic for all you know!~" I playfully tease the other, making both brother and Jun-chan irk.

I laugh harder.

x

"That was a refreshing laugh but," I let another yawn out, "I'm still tired..."

"I can still carry you, you know."

I keep walking, silently refusing the embarrassing offer and ignoring the hefty laughter.

"Look, it Akihiko-senpai!" a girl screams with delight, making me wince from the pitched-noise.

I look over to the front gates, seeing a crowd of girl students around who was called Akihiko-senpai.

"Wait for us!" another yells out.

I cringe at their constant loud squealing.

"Man, would you look at that? I hear they're always swarming Akihiko-senpai like that."

"Oh? Why Jun-chan are you," I sneer playfully at him, "Jeeeeealous?"

"What!? N-no," I giggle at him when his face flusters, "I mean I know that he's the captain of the boxing team, but... I mean come on, you don't even see girls flock like that on TV! I wonder where they're going..."

I turn completely to face Jun-chan with a wry smile, "Yeah, but I feel kinda bad for Senpai... Just _look_ at them_._"

My face wrinkles as another girl squeals something, "...Or listen, either one is more then enough to..."

"Hey, are you guys free this afternoon?" I nearly shriek, jumping around to see Akihiko-senpai behind me.

"Huh? Who, us!?" Jun-chan sounds just as startled, "I... Guess so...?"

"I-Is there something you need!?" I yelp by mistake, attracting unwanted attention of the crowd.

I hastily cling to Minato's side, smiling all the while.

"I want the three of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall. You know where is, right?" I nervously nod my head at him, "I'll be at the police station. See ya there."

"Th-The police station?" Jun-chan asks before Akihiko-senpai leaves. "...Uh," he looks over at the crowd of girls that surround us now, "Are your friends gonna come along, too?"

"Who, these girls?" he laughs in response with his eyes annoyed, "I don't even know their names. They talk so much they give me a headache."

I hold in a giggle, trying not be rude or provoke the elder's fans.

"Anyway, I'm gonna head out." he glances at brother and me, "...Don't keep me waiting." He turns on his heel, giving us a way from behind as he walks away.

"Awww... Why can't he be more friendly?" one of the girls around us sighs loudly, before the group walks away not before giving us a few cold stares.

I look at Jun-chan with a questioning face again.

"Man, how can he not know their names!?" I arch an eye at him, "I mean, seriously! Just look at them!"

"Exactly, just _look_ at them Jun-chan." I let out a strained laugh. Minato grumbles agreeing with me, his forehead wrinkled with annoyance._  
_

I give him a light pat on his shoulder.

He lets out a deep sigh, slouching his shoulders, "Oh well, let's go."

x

*"*"*

"Ni-chan!" a hand pulls one of my headphones off my ear, I glance over to Minako as she tugs timidly at my sleeve.

"You're being rude..." her voice is hushed quietly and her pale face was tinted with a light pink, lips were curved downward into a frown.

Still cute.

"Hmm..." I deadpan at the people in front of us, standing inside the police station as called in by Sanada.

Standing behind the front desk was a police officer, introduced as Kurosawa an officer who would provide us with equipment to fight in the Tartarus. So long as we had money.

"It's not 'hmm'!" she elbows me lightly in the stomach, "Oh! U-um this is my brother, Minato... I'm sorry..."

Her face flusters more, growing a red that was closer to the hue of her eyes. I chuckle lightly over how cute she was being, getting a glare flashed at me that was drowning in embarrassment.

"Well, I'll see you later." Sanada waves stepping out the door, "Thanks again."

"I've been informed of you three." I take my other headphone off, listening to Kurosawa speak. "My job is to maintain peace in this city, regardless of circumstances. I'm just an ordinary police officer but it doesn't take a genius to know something strange is going on here."

I slightly nod in agreement, you'd have to be stupid to not notice there was something wrong. Having a syndrome come out of nowhere and to have it spread like wildfire is just tip of the iceberg.

"I'm only doing what I think is right." Kurosawa continues, "I don't have that much, but you should be able to find what you need."

"We'll keep that in mind." I respond with a blank face, I feel a tug on my sleeve again. "Have a good day, sir."

"B-bye Kurosawa-san..." Minako paces out quickly, with Junpei out the door. I leave with a quick bow to the officer, taking mental note to come by another time to purchase some equipment later.

Out the door I see both Minako and Junpei stiff, uncomfortable and upset from the turn of events.

"Pshh, only five thousand yen..." I see Junpei mutter with a scorned face, "I'm gonna take off, since I'm in a bad mood now..."

_"You're not the only one."_ I muse, still keeping a blank face while fighting a small smile.

"Later." he runs off towards the arcade, probably to blow his given money off there. I should keep a some money to fund for everyone's equipment, if Takeba was like Junpei when it came to money. It would probably be best to have some emergency money too, in case.

"Um, there's a cafe over there..." Minako speaks up, "Some kind of Pheromone Coffee is there and some sandwiches too, but there's some cakes too..."

I smile brightly at her, "Nee-san, I'm happy to treat you to anything." I chuckle softly when she smacks me in an flustered huff.

"T-There's some things I want to talk about okay!?" her face is painted red, "L-let's just go!"

She grabs my hand, rushing into Chagall Cafe. We take a table for ourselves, and place our orders. When the waitress, gowned in a maid attire leaves Minako looks to me with her red eyes, serious.

I wait for her to voice her thoughts, merely sipping at the cup coffee that was brought as I looked straight back into her eyes.

"Did you see cards?"

I nod.

"Did you get Pixie and Apsaras?"

"Only Apsaras, why?" I become puzzled when she frowns, going deep into thought.

"Here are your orders!" a waitress rings by, placing two plates on our table: a slice of strawberry cake on and a sandwich. She places the cake in front of Minako and the sandwich in front of me.

"Thanks." I don't bother looking at the stranger, moving my hands to switch the plates around. She mumbles lowly but quickly leaves, giving us our space to talk again.

"...I didn't draw Apsaras, but I can hear her voice..." I look back up to Minako.

"...Hear?" I blink at her, "I've only heard their voices when we call them or like Apsaras' case draw."

"H-huh," she looks at me, somewhat shocked. "Oh u-uh what I mean by hear, it's like feeling them and sometimes they talk or laugh... You don't hear them, or feel anything?"

"Nothing," I take a bite out of the cake, letting its sweetness seep in my mouth. "What about Orpheus then?"

She returns my shake, "The only ones I know for sure is Pixie and Apsaras..." her eyes frown downward, "Why can't I hear Orpheus or those other two...Since, that night..."

I chew quietly, remembering the night we first used Personas. Then I recall something that long-limbed dwarf said.

"It was Orphues that heeded our calling..." Minako's eyes blink at me, "It was something that man in the Velvet Room said..."

"Yeah, Igor said that..." she tilted her head, "What about it...?"

"Even though we called out three different Persona, he only said Orpheus' name so maybe those other two, the gold and..." I pause involuntarily from shuddering slightly to the memory, "The black one are the same as my silver Orpheus?"

"All three of them are the same...?" Minako thinks hard, scowling (rather cutely) at thin air. "I didn't see the first one other than hearing her voice the first time... But the second one he didn't look anything like your Orpheus..."

"...It did come out of the gold one though." I see Minako flinch, most likely from the sensation of pain that she felt during the time.

"That still doesn't make sense why I can't hear Orphues' voice, or if the other two are Orpheus then it makes even less sense..."

"Hmm... Maybe Igor knows about this," I reason out, "After all he did know about Personas, our _power_ and that door of his seems visible only to us."

She nods, worry still washed over her face.

"Minako don't make that face, remember I'll protect you. No matter what alright?" I grasp one of her hands into my own, smiling with determination. "I won't let anything happen to you ever again, alright? Now come on we should finish eating and get back to the dorms."

"Mm," she pulls her hand away to grab the sandwich in front of her, "...But you won't leave either right? Promise...?"

My eyes smile at her.

"I promise."


	9. Like and Dislike

I apologize for the delay of this chapter, I was partly agonizing over social links and busy with work, picking the social links out though was horrible for me. (I was also going through every chapter and editing them, I managed to overlook a lot of errors. Aha... I hope that I may never need to edit them again.)

Anyways please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Like and Dislike  
**

4/23

"Man, I'm so tired..." I peer above Minako's head to look over at Junpei's sleepy face, "Coming to school's a job by itself and things got so busy all of a sudden. Well, I do feel a lot more satisfied, though."

"Hmm?" Sis arches her head at the capped other, "What do you mean?"

"You know!" Junpei grins, "Havin' somethin' that only we can do... It just feels great."

"True... But I rather it not so..." she scrunches her face, glaring down at the ground and huffing out a sigh.

"Don't worry man! I got your back, so does your bro." Junpei laughs out, giving Minako a friendly pat on her shoulder to cheer her up with some support.

I smile.

A loud yawn escapes him, "Oh man, now I'm getting teary eyed now... Goin' to class is a pain..."

"Now you know how I felt yesterday!" Minako laughs teasingly, "Oh! How about we hang out after school?"

"Huh? Sure, I was actually thinking about what do after school."

"Then it's a date! Right Ni-chan?" she smiles at me.

_"...Why are you calling it a date."_ I merely give her a shrug with my shoulders.

Junpei lets out a carefree laugh, "I know someplace that's really good! So let's meet up after school 'k?"

"Yup!" Minako skips along happily, humming one of her favorite songs' tune; Memories of You.

I smile fondly, as we head to class for the day.

x

"This is delicious!"

"Nee-san you shouldn't talk with you're mouth full." I laugh, watching sis slurp down her bowl of noodles.

"S-shush!" she spits out, "Good food is meant to be messy!"

Junpei laughs with me, "Good, right?"

She nods energetically, continuing to devour the bowl of ramen.

"Well then, I'm digging in too." I hear chopsticks being snapped apart, "Chow time!"

It doesn't take long for Junpei to stop eating, wincing in pain. "Ahh, hot hot hot..."

I give a sympathetic chuckle for the other, not being able to handle hot food in general.

"Man, this is great!" the other took a gulp of water and continued eating away his bowl.

"You were right this special is better than I thought!" Minako put her bowl down after chugging down the broth, "Ni-chan you should eat too! Or I might just take it!" she giggled at me with a wide grin.

"Whoa man! You're done already?" Junpei gawks but laughs happily, "I guess makes sense that Minato's slower then a turtle when it comes to eating." he chuckles, eyeing my untouched bowl.

I mockingly roll my eyes at them both, grabbing my own pair of chopsticks to start eating my own share.

It really was delicious.

"So you guys feeling okay now?"

"Hmm, what do you mean?" sis stares at us both, with her chin resting on her the palms of her hands and elbows on the table.

"Well, you guys were in the hospital for a while..." I see Junpei peek a glance at Minako, "You seemed full of energy at school, but I was kind of worried."

I look back at Minako and her face is tinted with red and her eyes were wide, it a was a little upsetting to know someone else could make that expression on her.

"O-oh, wow, um..." Minako plays with one of her red headphones that hung around her neck, embarrassed but she was overjoyed underneath I was sure. "T-thanks Jun-chan!" She beams her best smile at Junpei, with her cheeks still stained with a flush.

"Don't worry about it Ko-tan," Junpei laughs with a grin returning hers, "I had some problems myself when I transferred here too. In your case, you got all that fighting stuff on top of that..." his smile drops a bit with his nervous laughter, "So I was wondering if you weren't accustomed to school or whatever..."

He smiles again with bright eyes, "Then again, I think you'll do just fine."

I chuckle, I never thought Junpei was this insightful. I could trust him to be good friends with Minako, there was no need to step in with their friendship.

So long as they stayed as friends.

I nearly choke, startled and jolted out of my thoughts by a loud ringing in my head. I blink blankly a few times, listening to a familiar voice speaking hollowly in my head.

_Thou art I... And I am thou..._

_Thou hast established a new bond..._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana_

I look over to Minako, she seems un-phased with only hints of her blush left on her face. Either she brushed off the voice or didn't hear it.

"Still..." I snap back to Junpei, shrugging away my thoughts, "Girls and guys livin' in the same dorm, huh? That can't be good."

The other has a wide devious grin on his face, I scoff and continue eating.

Minako merely giggles at him, "Planning to fall in love, Jun-chan?"

"Oh don't worry about me," Junpei huffs out, "I don't drag love into my work, then again I can't guarantee that I won't fall for somebody!"

He deviously laughs loudly, Minako in turn laughs at him, teasingly. "To be honest Jun-chan, I can't picture you with Yukari-chan or Mitsuru-senpai!"

"Harsh Ko-tan, but yeah me neither man... I mean Mitsuru-senpai feels like she would trample all over me, and Yuka-tan... Uh yeah let's not go there."

They both laughed cheerfully, joking around with each other.

x

*"*"*

"I think you should explore the Tartarus today, everyone seems to be in good condition to go."

I gulp down a cup of dread, fidgeting on my feet.

"Expect you Sanada." brother spits out, he seemed to not like Akihiko-senpai. I couldn't really blame him, the elder seemed way too immersed in becoming stronger. It reminded me a little of how brother acted just a few years back, he probably thought the same too.

The said elder quietly grumbles, refocusing back onto his gloves.

"Nee-san," brother speaks up to me, "Are you able to stay here, or even in the lobby of the tower?"

I frown at him, but nod.

"Alright, then we can go but Nee-san is staying down in the lobby."

I felt heavy guilt and disappointment on my shoulders, I look over at Mitsuru-senpai with pleading eyes. I notice she flinches slightly, but she coughs clearing her throat.

"Yes, that would be fine." I let out a sigh of relief, "But please understand some operations will require both of you to cooperate, Arisato."

I make a nervous chuckle, "U-um, I'll keep that in mind."

"Very well, we'll meet at Tartarus around midnight. Don't be late." Mitsuru-senpai stands up, closing her book. Walking upstairs, to probably get ready for exploring the tower.

I let out a loud sigh, slouching onto brother's side. He lightly pats my head, motioning me up towards our room.

x

Dark Hour

"Arisato, I want you to be at least on standby in case of emergencies understood?"

I nod vigorously, with nervousness biting away in my entire body. Glancing around the bright lobby that was the entrance to a tower dubbed after hell.

Mitsuru-senpai, Akihiko-senpai and I were all standing in the lobby of the Tartarus. After watching brother, Jun-chan and Yukari leave to explore the Tartarus. I still had the red armband and evoker on me, along with the loathed naginata placed on a side of the wall nearby. I quietly wander about in the lobby, despite where it led to. The lobby was still stunning in looks.

A blue door comes into my view.

"Hmm..." I wonder a little bit before grabbing the door-nob and entering.

The sounds of clacking gears were beginning to become familiar now to my ears, velvet colored my vision.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." a male man asked with a gentle tone, "How may I help you today?"

"O-oh," I see it was Theodore, "Hello T-theodore-san..." I frown saying such a foreign name was a lot harder then I thought.

"Theo is just fine, Minako-sama."

"S-sama," I choke, "M-minako is just fine... Um, Theo-san."

I noticed the girl named Elizabeth in hold a laugh.

"Then... Minako-san, is there anything you need?"

"U-um actually, I just have a question..." I look to Igor who was silent all this time, "It's about the first time brother and I called our... O-orpheus..."

He keeps silent, merely gazing at me with his large eyes.

"H-how come I can't feel my Orpheus around... If that's what her name is, and the other one..." I pause a bit, reminiscing back to the night they first appeared, "...That other child, I can't feel him either, only Pixie and Apsaras... Why?"

His eyes smile, "Ah, I can't answer that completely but think of it like this..."

I look to him with my full attention.

"The Persona that heeded your call is very well the same as the one your brother had called, Orpheus. They are one and the same, yet two and different."

I wait for him to continue, not letting confusion bite at me.

"While the other you speak of, is one that is unmeant to be... Yet is quite real," his smile flatters now, "His coming was unseen and your Orpheus was shattered, surprised and overtaken by this being..."

My shoulders tense, "D-does that mean my Orpheus is..."

He chuckles lightly, smiling again. "No, no my dear... Your Orpheus is merely slumbering, gathering its strength deep inside of your soul. There will be a time when your Orpheus will appear before you once more."

I felt my chest burn.

"However, that all depends on the path you decide to take in the near future... Now then, off you go my dear."

Hand push me out, making me fall on the ground back in the lobby.

"O-ow..." I wince, getting up and dusting myself off. _"That was a little mean..."_

"I knew it!" I jump almost toppling over to the ground again when I hear Mitsuru-senpai shout, I spin around to look across from the Velvet Door to where everyone was gathered around. Seeing both Mitsuru-senpai, Akihiko-senpai and the rest that went into Tartarus as well. "That device is a sort of portal that connects all like devices together."

I glance past where brother was to the small gold arch with a green light now beaming out like rings in front of it.

_"I don't remember it doing that before..."_ I walk to where they were.

"By activating it, you can move to the entrance... As well as between devices within Tartarus. You should take good advantage these when you find them, they'll be useful during expeditions."

"Hmm," Minato puts a hand to his mouth, in deep thought. "These should be useful should we need extra assistance as well, is everyone alright to keep moving?"

"Y-yeah I'm still good... Just let me catch my breath." Yukari wheezed, short of breath.

"I'm still good man!" Jun-chan cheered, but his face was red with some fatigue. I felt terrible letting them to this on their own, even brother seemed a little winded.

I couldn't stay like this forever, I need to decide. I take a deep breath.

"U-um..." I walk a bit closer, scanning them a bit more. I noticed a Jun-chan and brother had a lot of scratches and cuts, I frown; feeling even worse about not helping. "I-I can help out a bit, I mean I'm not good at fighting or leading like Ni-chan... But Pixie and Apsaras can help with their magic..."

"E-eh, you have more than one Persona too, Ko-tan..." Jun-chan shifts on his feet, he forces a strained awkward laugh. Confusing me a bit as to why he would show such a face, "I guess you guys are twins after all."

I laugh dryly to that.

"Nee-san you don't have to force yourself..."

I inhale another deep breath.

"B-but I want to help, I mean I really don't think I can handle staying inside with all that..." I felt my stomach drop, "B-blood... But, I don't want to keep letting you do all the work and Mitsuru-senpai said to stay on standby for emergencies b-but how would I be any help if I-I don't get any stronger!"

I huff, feeling my heart tremble with anxiety.

"Well said Minako!" I almost want to tear up over how excited Akihiko-senpai's tone was, "There's nothing wrong with wanting to become strong, and 'sides you'll protect her won't you Minato?"

Brother grunts with a glare, I took it as _'Like hell I'll let her get hurt'_. I give an awkward chuckle.

He looks at me with serious eyes, "The formation says the same like before and don't overdo it when it comes to summoning."

"T-then-!" my head perks up at him.

"You can come, but you'll only come if we need some extra help alright... And be careful, the floor we're on has only a few shadows but they're strong according to Kirijo."

"O-okay, got it!" I run over to grab the naginata, a bit hesitant but I wanted to be some help for brother and everyone. I run back and see brother scanning my face once more with a monotone facade, I knew worry was swarming underneath but I wouldn't let that make me waver my decision.

I was determined to not let fear stop me from protecting my new friends.

He lets another short sigh out almost soundless, "We're heading back to the fifth floor, and you're heading back if I see you getting sick."

"R-right!"

x

"Alright! We did it!" Jun-chan laughs out, cheering as black mist poured out on the floor making the defeated hands disappear.

The smell of blood burned my nose, making me feel queasy but I laugh along with him. Shaking away my discomfort for a bit, I look back the ground and spot three shiny specks on the ground where the three gloved hands once were. I step over to kneel down looking at the sparkling gems, they glowed a bright yellow aura and I could swear I saw sparks build around them.

"Ni-chan what are these...?" I keep staring at them, still wary enough not to touch them.

"Mazio gems, just throw them and it casts a skill without needing to summon a persona..." he picks them up, I wince from the loud shocks of static that sounded. "Like the name says, casts a mazio spell."

"O-okay..."

"It's useful when no one can use a spell, just don't question it Nee-san." he grunts at me, shoving the three gems into a gray belt bag around his waist.

"But you know... I wonder if there's some kind of pattern with these different shadows Mitsuru-senpai senses?" brother shrugs at me, unsure how to answer.

"We'll find out as we keep going, but are you still feeling alright?"

I nod, slowly adjusting and baring through the uneasy sight of blood. I would be fine so long as we didn't have coffins dropping in on us anytime soon. I shudder at that thought.

x

"_-The shadows there seem different...-_" Mitsuru-senpai's voice buzzes to life again, "_-If you think you're strong enough, you could split the party up and have everyone fight individually.-_"

_"W-wait are we going to fight by ourselves?"_ I fidget on my feet.

"No, though it does hold merit to cover more ground... There's too much risk of going completely alone, but Kirijo are you capable of supporting two separate teams?"

"_-...Yes I should be able to.-_" I flinch over the elder's tone, clearly displeased about her power being questioned.

"Alright then, Nee-san I want you to decide." I jump at that.

"E-eh!? M-me? But I, why!?" I stutter, completely shocked by his decision. Frantically I look over Yukari and Junpei, "W-well, um... Personally I would rather stay all together but... Um," I look over at brother, "I-I think we can manage with partners..."

I chew on my lip nervously thinking over my thoughts. "For p-partners I think Ni-chan and Yukari-chan are best suited to be together, while I can stick with Jun-chan..."

"E-Eh, Minako-chan why don't we just stick together?" the girl in pink looks at me, mostly in objection of being alone with brother.

"No, she's right." brother raises his hand to hush Yukari, "Takeba, you and Nee-san are the better as healers compare to Junpei and I that are more suited for fighting and offensive magic. Though granted I also have access to Pixie and Apsaras I can use some healing skills," I hear a low grunt from Junpei and for a moment I thought he was scowling but he gave me a grin when we made eye-contact, "but that doesn't mean anything if I can't handle casting them constantly like Nee-san can."

"Y-yeah but why YOU of all people..." Yukari really hated him and it was really obvious, I frown at that.

"C-cause," I speak up, "Ni-chan and I have Pixie and Apsaras in case something goes wrong... But if we're together that wouldn't really be using this power efficiently... R-right?" I look at brother, hoping I was theorizing right.

He nods, "Honestly I would prefer to keep her closer, but using this plan would be effective if we're ever in a rush to find something on a floor and to clear it out much faster. Is this fine Kirijo?"

"_-Oui, this is acceptable but keep in mind of your conditions.-_"

"Got it," Minato's silver eyes stare at me, "Be sure to signal Kirijo once you find the staircase but don't, and I mean _do not_ move ahead of us."

"G-Got it! Alright, Jun-chan let's do our best together!" I huff, a little shaky and nervous from brother's heavy tone, but I shake it away hopping next to Jun-chan that was blankly staring at the walls. I nibble my lip, he's been acting a little weird lately. "Jun-chan?"

He jolts when I tap his shoulder, giving me grin and light chuckle. "Jeez Ko-tan! Way to give a bro a scare."

_"I'm probably just over thinking..."_ I pace with him, chatting with him happily as we look around the floor.

x

*"*"*

"I hate you."

"I dislike you," I stare blankly at the girl, she glares at me. "I was only being honest that time, unless you wanted me to say sweet words and bottle-feed you like a baby?" I give her a mocking smirk, but my eyes are still uninterested and unamused.

She growls at me in return, "How dare you..."

"You have no right to say that, after all I merely retorted to a story you shared with your _free_ will. It's not like I went in your personal records." I let my voice drip with venom and sarcasm. Seeing as there was no need to act friendly with someone that was hostile to me._  
_

"T-That was cause we needed-"

"Power?" I give a low chuckle, sneering at the girl. "I'm going to mention this once, don't make excuses and trust me. You really don't want to try this at all with Minako, unless you're fine not ever getting her warmed up to you. Not that I care."

The girl glares hard at the ground, rendered speechless. I let my blank expression take over again, scanning the area around us.

Despite my cold words, I don't actually hate the girl. I don't really dislike people who haven't hurt people on purpose, with malicious thoughts. Though seeing how we act now, it'll be a long time before we're anywhere close in standards of proper allies. For now I'll merely keep watch, and make sure she doesn't get into trouble.

"Ah," I click on the black earpiece, calling Kirijo. "Kirijo please tell Nee-san and Junpei that we found the stairs."

"_-I understand, I'll inform them right now.-_"

"Takeba," I glance back at her, "You can sit down here while we wait for Minako and Junpei to here."

She doesn't respond, merely grumbling and eyeing me with suspicion.

"Takeba you know, I don't actually hate you. Merely dislike and while we're exploring here I rather avoid having someone collapse from exhaustion." I glance blankly at to the open hallways, "I'm sure, Minako would like that as well."

I hear her fidget and I glance back to see her sitting on the floor, I hold back a chuckle knowing the girl would probably take it the wrong way.

x

In front of us stood a large metal shadow colored silver and blue, with a mustard-yellow mask. In place of its arms were large straight lance-like objects and for legs it had three limbs on each side attached to a gear-like wheel.

"_-It seems you've attracted the guardian's attention. Its Arcana is the Chariot. I'll attempt to analyze the enemy.-_"

"Rakunda!" a purplish light bathes the shadow, I look over to see Minako with the laughing fairy behind her. "The armor's weaker now but it won't last forever!"

"_-Its called Rampage Drive! Dark, light and all physical are ineffective! I don't suggest agi skills either!-_"

I curse at that, "Junpei! Focus on using support skills and keep dodging its attacks, I'll focus on healing!"

I feel an annoying tug on my heart, followed by a light giggle. I shake it off, keeping my focus on the shadow.

"Takeba! Nee-san! We're depending on your magic to take it down!"

"On it!" glass breaks and turns to dust in the air, "Apsaras!"

A cold chill spreads around us, and ice pierces the silver shadow. More glass shatters with wind following after, slicing away at the half-frozen creature. It still wasn't down.

It quickly spins and retaliates by casting its own spell, spending sparks flying at us. I brace the zaps holding my arms in front of my face, hissing at the shocks.

"Kyaa-!" I look over to see Takeba go down and the shadow takes this as chance to move in closer for another attack.

"H-hang on!" Minako runs towards the two, firing the gun as she sprints. I watch completely baffled as Minako slides on the ground, that was covered with a layer of ice.

She fires the gun again, glaring hard at the shadow.

"Here's a _real_ frostbite! Apsaras!" the woman she summons, casts another ice spell. Only this time in close range, she bows downward and grabs the shadow's head with her pale hands. Encasing it in a thick block of ice, making it spin madly around trying to rid the ice.

"U-um, I think it's mad!"

"Y-you think!?" Takeba jumps up to her feet, both scurry away to get out of the creature's reach. It spins blindly around, swinging it's lances dangerously around in the air. Rapidly it rotates on its feet spinning towards me.

"Everyone keep away from-" I click my tongue, jumping back just as a lance just barely grazes my face. The shadow continues spinning madly around everyone.

"Ni-chan! Why you...! Apsaras, please freeze it in place!" I looked to see Apsaras floated gentle above Minako.

I almost could swear the Persona smiled at her before she did as told. Holding the large shadow in place by freezing it's metal-feet on the ground.

My mind quickly clicks, getting an idea of what to do. "Junpei, focus on strengthening everyone's defenses with rakukaja!" I hiss almost biting my tongue trying to say that word, I hold the silver gun to my head. "RAKUNDA!"

I let the small fairy cast its magic, hoping that the armor is more frail now. I glance back at Junpei, he's scorning and mumbling something inaudible before he pulls the trigger. "HERMES!"

A purple light wrap around Takeba, flashing upwards brightly.

"Takeba! Try to hit just the top part of its body with garu! Nee-san keep going with the bufu! And keep it immobilized!"

"G-got it!" the brunette scrambles to point her gun at her forehead, "IO!" She clicks it calling forth her persona, that unleashed another gust of wind aimed higher than the previous one, hitting only the head and torso dead-on.

"Yukari-chan try casting garu again!" Minako calls out, holding the gun up again.

_"What was she thinking this time?"_ I Takeba glances at her with weary but she nods, holding the gun up. I felt my heart stir, my instincts screamed.

"Takeba wait-!"

"IO!" I was too late in my call, both of them pull the trigger.

Io the woman seating in the cow head shoots another wave of light green wind again, only this time I see large sharp icicles flying with it. Flying jaggedly and out of control. The ice and wind pierce through the shadow, causing it to completely shatter and turn into a plume of black mist.

"Shit!" I shift on my feet and quickly rush over to shove Junpei to the ground.


	10. Connection

So I'll be honest, we're a lot more behind my plans. Aha, we're suppose to be at least at or past the Priestess by now. I'm going to see if I can post chapters a bit faster to speed things up.

Lots of of changes happening now, haha.

But I hope you're enjoying so far.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Connection**

4/25

"...Welcome to Bookworms. How many guests? Smoking or non-smoking?" I'm taken out of my trance, hearing a raspy old voice. I take a glance around.

I was standing in the used bookstore that just recently reopened. In front of me, behind the counter was a old couple.

"Hm?" the elder man looks at me, taking the pipe in his mouth out. "Excuse me, but that leaf... May I see it?"

"Leaf...?" I blink, I don't remember picking up a leaf.

The man laughs brightly at me, "Why the one in your hair!"

I felt my face redden, quickly brushing through my hair and finding the said leaf caught sitting in my ponytail.

"O-Oh my gosh, I-" I panic with embarrassment, was I walking around with a leaf in my hair the entire time. "U-um here..." Plucking the leaf gently out of my hair, I let the man see it. The elder was still smiling happily and lively at me, though his eyes seemed to just sparkle looking over the leaf._  
_

"Oh! Is this a leaf from that persimmon tree?" he looks at my hands holding the leaf in absolute delight, "It must have grown quite a bit to produce such splendid leaves..."

For a brief moment, I saw the old man's face drop.

"Wait, are you with that other boy? So, you didn't come here to buy books?" I blink at the man, "Really, what a wonderful way to show us this!"

"U-um... I'm sorry but I'm not sure what you're talking about..." I fumble with the leaf, being careful not to rip it.

"Huh? So you're not with that other boy?" I shake my head, "But you two look exactly alike!"

The door swings open, "Excuse me..."

I pale at the sound of the voice, and quickly shrink behind a stack of books. Trying to avoid looking behind me.

"Why there he is now!" the old man chuckles, not noticing my expression.

"...N-nee-san..." brother's voice stutters. He knew I was still feeling awful about seeing him, after what I did nights before. During that last fight when we were fighting the floor guardian. I shudder a bit, remembering the ice stabbing into his arm and green wind slashing his sleeve up. All of the blood that poured out, since then I've been avoiding everyone. Which just made me feel worse, running away so I could figure out what to say.

I shake my thoughts away and keep my attention focused on a worn-out book cover.

"Oh! You brought a leaf too," my eyes end up turning back to elder man when he laughs again, "I knew you two were kind young kids! I've been meaning to go see that tree for a while now, but I'm not sure if these stumpy old legs will make it that far."

I could hear brother give a soft chuckle.

"...That wasn't meant to be a pun. You know, 'stumpy,' tree stump.' Catch my drift?" though the elder says that he makes a wide grin.

The woman next to him smiles warmly and joins brother's light chuckling. "Very clever, dear."

"Allow me to introduce my wife Mitsuko. I'm Bunkichi."

"Minato, Minato Arisato."

"A-ah," I fluster again, realizing the couple were looking at me next. "I-I'm Minako Arisato...!"

"Oh! No wonder you two look so much alike!" the old man, Bunkichi laughs. I stole a quick glance over to Minato, he seemed rather surprised and pleased.

"Haha," he laughed, "It's been a long time since someone said that."

"Hmm, from now on we'll call you Minato-chan and Minako-chan!" Bunkichi laughs warmly, looking at us both with kind eyes. I could feel myself ease down, maybe now I could properly apologize to brother today.

A shock signals through my nerves, a loud bang echoed in my head. I don't pay mind to the voice that echoed hollowly in my mind, staring blankly at the card that fell down and gleamed in light. Like the other cards I've seen, it was a velvet blue. Only the small letter on the bottom and the picture were different. A large white 'V' was present on the bottom part of the border and in the center was a strange black spear-like object with two keys on the top corners. Two small womanly-figures kneeled in the bottom corners, both on separate colored-backgrounds: red and white.

_Thou art I... And I am thou...  
Thou hast established a new bond...  
Thou shall be blessed when using the Heirophant Arcana._

"We're open everyday expect Monday," Mitsuko glances at both me and brother, "So come visit us if you get bored."

"We'll come again than..." I stare at Minato for a bit, "Um, thank you for having us. Have a good night!"

Quickly I slip my hand into brother's, giving a quick bow to the old couple and drag him out of the bookstore.

I take a deep breath, awkwardly lacing my fingers with his.

"U-um... N-ni-chan..." I keep my eyes to the ground, trying to find the right words to say.

"Nee-san, honestly..." I look up, as he's giving me a long sigh, "You're my sister, there's no way I would hate or be angry alright?"

"B-but...!" I bite down hard on my lips, getting upset how he's letting this be easily forgiven.

"Though, we need to talk about this..." I feel my shoulder given a light pat, "It's been discussed about what to do."

"D-do? I'm in trouble right... Even more cause I wouldn't talk to senpai about it aren't I...?" my stomach drops, feeling guilt pang on my shoulders from all the trouble I caused.

"Come on, they're expecting us to come back..." he bumps his shoulder with mine, "Don't make that face, it'll be fine alright?"

x

*"*"*

"W-we're home!" her hand squeezes mine lightly, her eyes glance over to me and I give a warm smile. To reassure it'll be alright.

"Welcome back," Kirijo was standing by the counters, waiting for us. "I've been waiting for you Arisato."

On the couches I noticed Sanada, Junpei and Takeba all peeking glances over Minako. Both curious and worried about her, I huff and keep my face stoic.

"U-um, I'm..." Minako unlaces her fingers from mine, taking a step to the side and giving a deep bow down. "I'm very sorry for being reckless and putting the team in danger...!"

"I see you've done reflecting during these two days, however I can't let this slide so easily..." Kirijo speaks with her tone icy but her eyes seemed relieved. She was a regular person underneath her icy skin.

"Y-yes I know..." sis fidgets and inhales a deep breath.

"Therefore, you are suspended from joining any of the explorations of Tartarus until further notice." I blink and give Kirijo a look, I'm sure Minako did the same as she smiles briefly. "But after seeing your potential, I've deemed it necessary to have some extra training for controlling your personas' power."

"P-pardon..." sis' red eyes are wide and perplexed staring at the red-headed elder.

"Arisato-" she pauses, "...Your brother, has mentioned how in-sync you are with your personas and judging by how well you can handle summoning them, there is no doubt of that."

I hold back a snicker, the night we left the Tartarus I had spluttered out the first things that came to mind. So that the others would leave Minako alone even for a day or two, thankfully it worked.

"I-In-sync?" red orbs look at me, I make a low grunt not very sure either.

Kirijo's eyes smile with at her, before making a light laugh.

"I am similar to your case, as I hold a close bond with my Persona. Letting me hear Penthesilea's voice even out of battle," she holds up one of her slender hands with her fingers clasped lightly over her palm, swirls of a dim blue light faintly glowed around it.

"With proper training, I was able to master using simple skills without needing to use the evoker. Like so," The elder opens her hand, revealing a marble-sized chunk of what seemed like ice, rolling smoothly in her palm. I almost slip out a gawk, astonished by the feat but I quickly cover it up with my straight face.

"I highly suggest you practice, as often those who are more in sync with their Personas..." she pauses for a moment, briefly glancing between me and Takeba. She looks back to Minako but her face was stern, "They are often victims of berserk-personas, though I doubt I need to elaborate any further."

_"The night Orpheus first appeared,"_ I think, hissing at the memory _"Along with that monster..."_

My eyes focus on sis, her face seemed pale and her eyes were shaky. She must have been remembering the night like I was, she quickly shakes her head out of her thoughts and nods to the other with hesitation.

"W-what exactly do I do...?"

"For now, I would highly suggest training with just bufu and dia. As I can assist you in those two, though granted only when I'm free."

"T-thank you v-very much...!" Minako's face seems to brighten, she pauses a moment. Fumbling with her skirt's rim, nervously. "U-um..."

"Yes, what is?"

"M-mit..." she stammers on her words.

_"Ah."_ my mind clicks, I let out a short snicker.

"Mit-nee thank you!" without warning, she wraps her arms around Kirijo. Giving a warm hug to the elder, briefly I saw her face go into complete shock and her eyes widened, her pale cheeks become accompanied by a bright blush. I hush down my amusement, I notice Sanada and Junpei hold in their laughter as well as they smiles at the two of them.

"A-ah," Kirijo struggles rather comically for her words, "Y-yes, your quite welcome... Ahem, anyway you should head to bed. I'll be sure to give you proper instructions as to training, later."

x

4/27

"I apologize for the wait."

"Mit-nee?" Minako glances over to me, right I forgot to mention Kirijo wanted to see us after school.

"We weren't waiting for too long," I try to ignore sis' stares, "What is it that you needed us for?"

"To make a long story short," the other looks at us rather coolly, "I want the two of you to join student council."

"Why all of a sudden...?" Why would she pick the transfers students for something like this?

"U-um, I have tennis club... I'm not really sure if I can." Minako makes a sad low mumble, to think Kirijo would be the second person she would be so attached and fawn over. I though, still had my doubts over the elder. There was still something I needed to be cautious about, the motives behind S.E.E.S.

"Well, it's not like you'd have to participate in every activity. Just come to the student council room when you have time."

"O-oh!" you could almost hear the smile in sis' voice, "I'll be sure to help as much as I can than!"

"Thank you, Minako. Being President is very time-consuming, so I'd like to have additional help available in the event of an emergency. You both know my situation," the red-headed elder glances at me, "I'm asking you since you know what it's like to be a leader."

"Roger! Right Ni-chan?" I felt a hand bump my shoulder cheerfully, I huff.

"Fine..."

"I knew I could count on you two." Kirijo smiles warmly, though it was mostly directed to sis I'm sure. "...I've already made an appointment for you both with the faculty advisor, but you'll have to go on your own. I'm sorry I made the arrangements without your permission but I hope you understand the position I'm in."

"It's fine, we'll head to the office and then to the council room." I glance to Minako, in silent agreement.

"Thank you, I'll be waiting in the student council room for you both." Kirijo paces out of the room, but looks back to sis one more time with a warm gaze.

I shift in my chair before getting up, feeling a tad threatened of my position as sibling for sis. I shake away the silly thought as Minako grabs my hand, dragging us out of the classroom.

x

*"*"*

"A-ah! Sorry Ni-chan there's actually practice today!" I jump, seeing Rio standing in the halls. Her long black hair was tied up into a silky-long ponytail, it was simple and straight but really fit her figure. She was the girl who brought out the chariot card, or social link as brother called it. "C-can you tell Mit-nee I'm sorry! I'll see you later!"

I run off before hearing brother's answer. Over to Rio, who was mumbling to herself.

"Man... I'm tired." She yawns out, "I'm stiff as a board... I was asleep that entire period...Hmm?"

She turns around, noticing me. My face was probably red right now, I give her a crooked grin.

"Oh Minako-chan," she smiles back at me with a giggle, "Have you ever slept during class? Sometimes, it works like a charm... But not today. I'm still sleepy."

The girl lets out another yawn, to which I laugh at.

"Careful not to fall asleep during practice!" I tease.

"Hey, you looked psyched." I grin widely at her, as we happily walk over to the courts.

*"*"*

_"Huh, that girl... I've seen her somewhere... Ah well I'll pick Nee-san after her practice is over."_ I look over the plates of the doors, looking for where the council room should be. Once I find it, I quickly step inside.

"Oh, Arisato. I take it Minako has practice to attend to?" I give a nod to Kirijo, she was sitting in front of the blackboard while holding some papers. She stands up, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. "Everyone this is Minato Arisato, he and his sister, Minako Arisato will be joining us in student council."

"Minato-kun, huh..." I notice a male student with slicked back grayish-brown hair, he wore the uniform and had a yellow armband around his left arm. The disciplinary representative, I presumed.

"I'm Hidetoshi Odagiri. I supervise the disciplinary committee." His dark-brown eyes leered at me, he must be unhappy about my appearance.

"I'm Chihiro Fushimi, the Treasurer." A girl with long straight-brown hair steps up, I couldn't tell from under her glasses but she seemed anxious and fidgeted on her feet. "I'm a sophomore, and um... I'm still learning the ropes, so... Please be patient with me, Minato-san."

The way the girl spoke, made it seem she was scared of something. She was probably just shy, and undoubtedly uncomfortable from being a first-year in student council.

I smile lightly, "Nice to meet you all, my sister will try to come by when she has no practice."

I felt Odagiri's eyes on me still, I felt like glaring at him if he kept this up.

"You must be talented if the President hand-picked you, nice to meet you."

I make a sharp inhale, when my mind crashes. This was really getting annoying.

On cue a card flips out.

_"This time it's four... Huh."_ I blankly stare at the roman numerals that were printed in white, sitting on the border below a black and white figure of what I assumed to be a king; the emperor.

The social links, as that dwarf Igor called them were quite easy to keep track of and by now I could for sure know they were based off of tarot or arcana cards. I wished the crash would stop though, it would constantly make me ears ring and my heart jump as if it were real.

Along with this voice.

_Thou art I... And I am thou...  
Thou hast established a new bond...  
Thou shalt be bless when creating Personas of the Emperor Arcana..._

In my mind I was grateful that you wouldn't make a social link with every single person you met, though social links ended up being people who I do spend time with. Such as the elder couple, Bunchiki and Mitsuko. The pair were quite friendly, though it was saddening to know they were in a pitfall of grief from losing their son. Hopefully spending time with them would cheer the couple up.

I look over the Kirijo.

"When are the days that there are meetings?"

"The student council meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We don't meet on days before tests."

I frown, "Nee-san won't be able to show up too often than..."

"It's quite alright, I realize she has her clubs." It was starting to get harder to not laugh how Kirijo was now dotting on my sister.

"Alright then, I'll pass it on to her. Have good day." I spin on my heel, heading out the door and closing it behind me.

_"...That looked bad didn't it."_ I grumble and leave it, looking for where the tennis courts should be. Up ahead in the halls I notice two tanned students talking, I step up to them. The male one I could swear I saw somewhere.

"...Excuse me," both look over to me, "Do you know where the tennis courts are?"

"Oh! They're just in the field nearby the track, it's really hard to miss." the girl with black hair that was held up high and short answered me first, "Hmm? Aren't you that transfer student... Minato, right?"

I flinch, feeling deja vu wash over me. "...Yes, why?"

"Hmm..." the girl stares at me for a bit with her brown eyes, looking at my legs which confused me. "You should join the track team, you'll do great with your legs."

"Yuko you shouldn't drag the guy in like that," the other, a male laughed. "But yeah you should try out."

"...And you are?"

"Oh right, sorry 'bout that. I'm Yuko Nishiwaki, but call me Yuko." the girl introduced herself, "I'm the manager of the track team."

"I'm Kazushi Miyamoto, we're in the same class and in the track team."

_"Ah so that's were I've seen him..."_ I look over him carefully, and recognize him as that one student who wore a jersey. For a moment I notice his legs shift awkwardly, almost like he was in pain.

Strange.

"You went out with Yukari Takeba on the first day of school, right?" I cringe back to reality, is that really a big deal and Minako was with us then. "You're practically famous."

"Anyway we're actually going over to the tennis courts right now, we can show you the way if you want." Nishiwaki offers, hesitantly I accept.

*"*"*

"Everyone else just spends all practice talking about guys or loafing around..." Rio's face looked ready to burst into tears now, "Oh, I shouldn't be saying this to someone who just joined up."

Her face lightens up at me, but her eyes still look like they're ready to cry.

"If..." she hesitates on her words, "You wanna play tennis, it'll be a lot of work. But you're welcome to change your mind if you want."

I smile my brightest smile at her, "You couldn't make me stop even if you wanted me to." The girl laughs at this, looking a little better than before.

"Heeeey! Rio!" I turn around to see a tanned girl with black hair tied up into I think a pigtail walked over along with another boy and my brother.

"Ni-chan?" I blink at him, making a dumbfounded smile. Did he make new friends without me?

"This is Minako, my sister. Nee-san this is-"

"W-wow! You two really twins?" the girl cuts brother off and gapes between us. "I thought you were a couple or something."

I laugh hard when brother chokes and coughs.

"We're getting that a lot lately." I giggle, "It's nice to meet you, um... Kazushi-kun and I'm sorry you are...?"

"Oh, I'm Yuko. Just call me Yuko," the girl grins at me, "Say Rio where's the rest of your club...? Don't tell me they ditched again!?"

"Y-yuko, it's fine. We're about to clean up anyway..." Rio looks away quickly moving to put the equipment away.

"Rio-chan I'll help!" I step along to collect some of the tennis balls that were strewn about, "U-um how about we all go somewhere to eat later? Yuko-chan and Kazushi-kun would you like to join too?"

"Huh? Oh sure, let me just help you guys out first! Come on Kazushi, you too!" both Kazushi and Yuko join in cleaning, along with Minato who helped move the nets down.

"Jeez, that was a lot of work..." I look over to Kazushi, he seemed tired and exhausted. "How were you two going to clean that up by yourselves before it got dark?"

"U-um... Dunno?" I make a light awkward chuckle, "S-so, does anyone want burgers? My treat!"

x

4/28

"Don't worry about Ni-chan, he was dragged away for practice." I snort, "I can't believe Yuko-chan managed to get him to join a club, and track at that! He's always lazy when it comes to school too!"

I look at Yukari with a smile, I invited to go to the Chagall Cafe after school. Some way to maybe get a little closer with her, and maybe help the wall between her and brother go down a little. So far it doesn't seem to be working, as the brunette kept looking at me both nervous and worried about something.

"Is something wrong Yuka-tan?" she snaps out of it, when I call her by that name again. I make a short giggle.

"I thought we were done with that name..." she groans.

"Haha, I like Yuka-tan. It's really cute," I laugh again, "And I like calling my friends with nicknames, unless they hate it." I dryly grin to that. "I can stop if you want."

"O-oh, no it's fine I guess..." Yukari looks at me, a little less tense. "U-um, well..." She looks at me awkwardly and fidgets in her seat. "There's... Something I need to say to you."

"What is it?" I tilt my head at her questionably.

"Um..." Yukari's brows knit together, frowning, "You probably might not remember, but..."

She pauses again, tense all over again. "Um... When you woke up in the hospital... You know after the dorm was attacked by a shadow and you discovered your persona..."

I frown a little, "Mm, I remember but what about it?"

"I wanted to apologize..." I blink at her confused, "To be honest I should apologize to your brother, but..." she fidgets.

"Oh... I get it," the girl looks at me surprised, "So that's why the two of you were so cold to each other... Yukari it's okay." I smile, "You can tell me it, we're friends now alright? So, please tell me what you mean by apologize, okay?"

Yukari's face seems to lighten with relief, as she let out a breath she was holding in.

"Well, um... A day before you woke up, Minato-kun did... And I said all these things to him, like 'you're the same as me,' and 'you're alone,' and stuff about your parents... Um, I was making assumptions about the both of you, and Minato-kun knew that from the start but I..."

She look away from me.

"...I slapped him, despite me being in the wrong... I mean, I lost my dad, but in your case you lost both your parents. And you lost each other too in a way... With the amnesia and all..."

I shift in my seat, but keep calm. She wasn't wrong, brother really was alone after the accident. Even if I did survive the accident, my memories didn't. Leaving Minato alone in remembering our parents and the me before the accident, making it like he was alone in surviving.

"And even though things may seem the same, people react to them differently... But I ignored how you both might've felt and forced my own opinions onto Minato-kun, and almost hurt you..." she looks back at me with guilty eyes, "I've been worrying all this time, how to apologize to you and Minato-kun since that day... But every time I talk to Minato-kun, I always spout out the wrong words and just make things worse..."

I smile sadly at that.

"But I still do sense something similar between us..." she hesitates, "You might not like it, since it's the fact we're both missing parents... Still, I've never had anyone who could understand it around me before..." she tries to smile at me but it's twisted and sad, "It's different for everyone else at school. They have both their parents at home... They can complain about how they'll get yelled at if they come home late..."

I felt my heart stir around her words.

"I... When I hear stuff like that, I feel jealous." Yukari looks down, ashamed. "But I hate feeling that way, so I hide it... And because I can't tell anyone that, I feel distant... I felt lonely. So when I heard about you, I felt that you could save me from that..."

My eyes widen at her, feeling a swirl of feelings meshed together. I wasn't too sure what to feel, but...

_"She's not a bad person... She's just confused."_ I warmly smile to her.

"Yikes! Sorry!" she gasps, "I'm being selfish again, I know. But the fact you're part of our group now makes me feel a lot better. I'm glad that you joined us..."

I giggle at how happy she looked, looking adorable and making me smile even brighter.

"Haha, I'm just going around in circles with this pity party," she laughs light-heartily, "Aren't I? But... That's how I really feel."

Suddenly the world goes silent, and once more that loud shatter sounds in my head. Another blue card, with a large black heart that looked like it had wings and had two people, a man and a woman standing below separated by tree-like shape which branched off just under the large heart. Again there was letters printed out in white text on the blue border, this one was a 'V' and a 'I' mushed together.

Again the voice rang out inside my head, but felt like it was whispering in my ears.

_Thou art I... And I am thou...  
__Thou hast established a new bond...  
__Thou shalt blessed when using the Lovers Arcana..._

Somewhere in my heart I felt Pixie's giggling grow louder, and my fingers tingled with a warm sensation. It was probably my imagination.

"Mm, it's alright." I jump back into the conversation again, like the voice never happened. "And about Ni-chan, don't worry. He doesn't hate people, and especially wouldn't hate you! Trust me, Ni-chan's like a cat. Once he warms up he's acts completely different and paws for your attention!"

"U-um, sorry that's really hard to picture Minako-chan..." despite her words she laughs happily.

"Yeah, I know." I giggle along with her, "And you can just call me just Minako or something like Ko-tan! Cause man, it's annoying to say our full names after a while!"

She laughs again, "Alright then Ko-chan."

I grin happily to her.


	11. Warnings

There are tears of joy, cause we're finally getting further into the actually story after about eleven chapters in.  
Though there were parts I was worried about, writing this so far has been quite a joy and relaxing from my life. (Also finally have another short break from work, if you're wondering why updates a bit faster right now.)

Again please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 11: Warnings**

4/29

"Ni-chan!" I feel a weight on my stomach, "Come on! It's Showa day, let's go to the bookstore!"

"I'm up- Nee-san I can't move with you on me." I chuckle, opening an eye to see her sitting on top of me. Already dressed to go out for the day, wearing her light beige sweater that had one large and small light brown stripes on it, red-plaid skirt, black stocking, and around her neck was a bright red scarf with her red headphones dangling on her shoulders. Her auburn hair was still in her usual high ponytail with the barrette clipped-in on the side.

"O-oh, sorry..." she slides off the bed, "Anyway hurry up! Let's go see Bunki-jii and Mitsu-baa!"

I laugh, pulling the sheets off me. Minako had been starting to get happier recently, which I was glad for. I guess it was fate for her to start acting like her old self in our hometown. I grit my teeth, I shouldn't think about that.

The past is the past, I need to stop clinging onto it.

"Alright, I'll meet you downstairs when I get ready. Can you grab me something to eat while you're down?" I start to unbutton my shirt, getting ready.

"Roger! Then I'll meet you downstairs!" I hear her footsteps lightly tap away, to head downstairs. I laugh again to that.

Really she was getting happier here.

x

"That's strange... I swear I left it around here..." we walk into bookworms, seeing Bunkichi fumble around. Searching around the counter for something. "But, I can't seem to find it."

"Looking for something?" Minako voices out, grabbing the elder man's attention.

"Minako-chan? How'd you know I was looking for something? Are you psychic?" the man laughs happily, with his pipe in his hand. "I'm looking for my glasses... No, not my glasses-my wallet... I can't seem to find it."

I let a light chuckle out of my lips, feeling quite happy to spend time with the elders.

"We'll help you look for it!" Minako smiles brightly, looking at me as well. I give her a smirk and shrug, my way of saying of course.

"Wow! Minako-chan, you really can read minds!" I laugh along with the man, "I was just thinking it'd be nice if someone gave us a hand."

"Well let's start looking, right-" the door hinges open, cutting Minako off as she stares over the door.

"Konnichiwa, 'ello!" I turn around to see a...

I blink a few times looking over the foreigner, I wasn't sure of their gender but I guess it was male. I glance over the other's appearance, short blonde hair and bright baby-blue eyes, wearing a black shirt and jeans.

"I found zis on ze ground outside! Eez this yours?"

_"What a heavy accent... Maybe French or German?"_

"Wow! This is it!" Bunkichi was ecstatic holding the wallet in his hand, "I've been looking for this wallet everywhere! It's not a golden wallet, but I'm still happy to have it back!"

I choke back a snort from his joke and reference.

"I'm glad you got it back Bunki-jii!" Minako smiles brightly.

"Sumimasen, excuse me..." the foreigner seems to address both Minako and me, "Aren't you ze transfer students everyone eez talking about?"

I scowl, why were transfer students such a popular gossip topic.

"Ah! You were the student who was talking with Mr. Ono on the first day of school!" it was like sis to remember something like that, "It's nice to meet you, I'm Minako Arisato and this is my brother Minato."

The other seems to beam happily at her.

"I came 'ere from France to abroad. My name eez Andre Laurent Jean Geraux." I nearly choke how long his name was, "But, zey call me 'Bebe'!"

"U-um, than... I'll call you B-Bebe-kun." I could see my sister's eyes spin, foreign languages were hard for her as it is. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Hajime mashite, it eez nice to meet you too!" he smiles, "I work in ze home economics room every day. If you get bored, come say 'ello! I 'ope to see you zere. Sayonara, goodbye!"

The French foreigner waves goodbye skipping along happily.

"H-he was, u-um... U-uh... Nice?" Minako seems baffled, "We should visit him in the economics room sometime though, he seem fun. E-even if it's kinda hard to follow what's saying for me... Aha..."

"Hmm, I thought I put it in my wallet so I wouldn't lose it..." my attention goes back to Bunkichi, "Ah, here it is! I knew it was in here!"

In the man's wrinkled hands he holds a small key. I see Mitsuko's face darken and she frowns.

"...Dear? Is that key for...?"

"Come on, dear, you know what it is. It's the key for our son's car." I felt the air grow tense, "Seeing Minako-chan and Minato-chan reminded me of how things used to be... I haven't heard the roar of the engine for in a long time."

The elder man, seems to gleam as he reminisces in his memories. Completely unaware of his wife's look of utter dread at him.

"Please don't!" the first time in a while, Minako jumps frightened by the elder woman's shout. "Why must you get into a car!? Do you want me to end up all alone!?"

Ah.

So that's how it was.

I look at the woman's face it's distraught and pained with complete anguish and grief.

"M-mitsu-baa, are you alright?" I look to my sister, she must have caught on. Her face was paler than before, but her eyes were completely glazed with worried and empathy for the other woman.

She after all, was scared to be alone too.

"Um, Minako-chan..." Mitsuko seems to calm down at her voice, "I'm sorry for raising my voice. Did I scare you?"

Minako moves closer to her, giving her light hushes to sooth her down. I glance over to Bunkichi, his face dropped and no longer seemed energetic like it was moments ago.

"Minato-chan... Our son... Remember what I told you? How he passed away..." he looks grim, "On the way home from work, he got into an accident... He was hit by a dump truck driver who was drunk on the job..."

_"So it was like that..."_ I furrow my brows, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Minato-chan, please punch me... Punch me for being so insensitive..." I nearly splutter from his words, "With all my excitement, I forgot to consider how my wife might feel... I'm such a... I'm such a..."

"Bunkichi-san, we all make mistakes. It's alright, even I've hurt my sister without meaning to before..." I smile sadly, "Don't let it get to you, we'll be sure to visit alright?"

"Mm! Cheer up Bunki-jii! Since you found your wallet why don't you go take Mitsu-baa out to eat?"

I notice Minako slip some money into Bunkichi's pocket as she gives him a hug. Though in turn even though the elder didn't notice the extra cash in his pocket he gave us some medicine as a kind of allowance.

We wave goodbye, leaving the store and heading back to the dorms. Minako speaks up, her voice was low and monotonous.

"...Why do people have to die...?"

"I'm not sure..." I frown, tightly clasping her hand in mine as she tries to hold in her sniffles and tears.

x

4/30

My phone buzzes in my pocket, startling me. As I haven't added any contacts besides Minako, not really bothering to use the handheld. I flip it open and answer the call.

"Hello...?"

"_-Hello? This is Theodore.-_" I blink, how did he manage to get my number? "_-Please come to the Velvet Room. There is a matter we need to discuss. You may use the alternate entrance located in Paulownia Mall. All you must do is find the door... I'll see you both soon.-_"

The phone clicks, and the line dies out.

He hung up on me.

"...Nee-san, come on..." I felt rather irritated, "We're heading to mall to meet some people."

"U-um... Is there a reason why you're mad from a phone call...?" she looks at me, grabbing her things quickly.

I grunt, annoyed as we head outside of the school.

x

_"The hell are we suppose to find a door here..."_ I grumble, glaring around the mall.

"Ni-chan..."

_"Actually how the hell did they even get our number, do they even have a phone..."_

"Ni-chan!" I'm pulled out of my thoughts, as Minako tugs on my arm. "Jeez, it's over there in the back alley... See it's just screaming 'velvet room' right at us." She pointed out the alleyway that was between the stairs and the police station.

"...How do I even miss that."

"Haha, you were too mad to actually look. Come on, let's hurry up and see what they need!" She smiles happily at me, letting some of my annoyance cool down.

We walk in and see the door we expected, a velvet door with a blue light oozing out of it. Minako grabs the handle and we head inside.

"I'm sorry to call you both out like this." the man, Theodore spoke calmly. "To tell the truth... There is a favor I and my sister would like to ask of you two."

"If you don't mind, will you accept my-..." the other girl, Elizabeth I believe pauses. "Our requests?"

"Some missions will be special and require one of you to escort us around, but..." Theodore smiles, "Of course, there will be a suitable reward upon completion of the request."

"Mm, alright that seems simple enough. Right Ni-chan?"

"Hmm, sure." I glance between the strange pair of siblings in front of us.

"Wonderful!" the girl cheers happily, "I shall anxiously await your cooperation."

Minako giggles at how cheery Elizabeth was, I scoff a little. Unable to muster up my anger now.

"Ah, that's right... I have some questions about 'creating' personas, how does that exactly work?"

"That is fusing your current personas to create stronger, more powerful ones." Elizabeth tunes in, "We, the residents of the velvet room are to assist you in fusing personas and your compendium."

"The compendium will allow you to re-summon previous personas," Theodore continues, "However you will be charged a certain fee for them."

"...So we're using these kids as..." I notice Minako's face scrunch up displeased.

"It is fate for personas to evolve, however they are by no means disappearing. They, like your Orpheus merely sleep in the sea of one's soul."

"Oh, that's a relief..." Minako's smiles at that, "I don't think I could bare to know that they were being tossed like items... That's inhuman..."

I stare slightly astonished by sister's logic, I take notice the two elevator attendants do the same. Their faces mixed with surprise and delight.

"We'll come again, and will be sure to help you in your requests! Okay Ni-chan?"

I huff, "You already said that."

She grins at me, "I know, just checking if you're awake there, hehe! See you again Igor, Theo-san and u-uh... E-Elizabeth-san." I chuckle as she struggles trying to say the foreign name, again horrendous with any foreign language. "May I call you Eli-san?"

"E-Eli-san?... Hmm," the girl looked up for moment in thought, "Very well, you are a guest so it would be wrong for I to disagree."

Minako shifts on her feet.

"Well then, we'll come again." We walk out of the Velvet Room, heading over to the monorail to get back to the dorms. Where we bump into Junpei, just before getting to the station.

"Oh hey man, wait Minato don't you have practice? Kazushi looked pumped today."

I choke, "U-ugh, why'd you remind me... Nee-san are you alright heading back before me? If I don't show up there's no telling what those two will do..." I shudder, not usually getting intimidated but both Yuko and Kazushi had been good friends so far. So there really wasn't a reason for me to avoid them, and it wasn't all that bad joining the track team.

"Sure thing, I got Jun-chan with me you know?" she giggles at me, "Have a good time at practice!"

I pass my bag to her, and make a dash over back to school. Hopefully not ending up getting chewed out for being late.

*"*"*

I giggle, "Wow, look at him go!"

"Man, no wonder Kaz was so pumped. He's freakin' fast!"

"Well, once you're used to the green night- I mean dark hour you kinda just zip through the day easily." I chuckle, "Though he's always sleeping in class, jeez... One of these days he'll regret it!"

"Can't really say anything there, since I kinda do the same." Jun-chan gives me a awkward laugh, "So, you wanna go check out a movie?"

"Oh! That'll be sweet!" I grin brightly at him, "Let's go!"

x

"Hrm..."

"What's wrong?" I look over to Jun-chan, still holding the burger in my hands. We were sitting in Wild-Duck Burger after we finished watching Double-Barreled Justice in the theaters.

"It was... Kinda not what I was expecting."

"The movie?" I question him, and take a bite out of my burger.

Jun-chan cocks his head me, "The villain wasn't all that evil. It kinda killed it for me when he started talking about his tragic past..."

"Really?" I stare at him with questioning eyes.

"Yeah, it isn't cool if you have to beat somebody who didn't want to be a bad guy. Bad guys should be evil all the way to the core. It's just more satisfying." he shrugs at me, completely unsatisfied.

I giggle at him, somewhat understanding what he means.

"Huh? Oh crap..." I look up at him again, he looking over at the entrance. I follow his gaze and see a few students from Gekkoukan, I wonder what the problem was and stare back at him while chewing. "The guys at school might say some stuff if they see us together."

I tilt my head at him, confused and swallow down my food.

"I mean, it looks like there's a lot of guys interested in you." he grins widely at me, "Plus, the famous Yuka-tan and Mitsuru-senpai live in the same dorm, too. There are a lot of dudes who envy me because of that..." he sighs loudly.

"I'm... Sorry?" I blink, still confused about what he was talking about.

"Yeah, it's your fault!" he laughs at me, with a mocking grin. I pout at him in response and shove another bite of my burger into my mouth.

"...Actually, you don't seem to be all that interested in guys." I look back him again, "I mean, you're not all excited and asking me who's saying all this stuff."

"Huh...?" I bob my head, Jun-chan was making no sense to me.

"...I mean, of course you aren't. No girl would be that desperate." he gives me a nod that confuses me even more, I'm completely lost now. "Also, I know you've probably got your hands full with your own stuff now. Actually, same goes for me too..."

His face turns completely serious, nothing like the usual Jun-chan I usually see.

"U-uh, Jun-chan." I speak up, "You really lost me there."

He laughs loudly, now grinning at me. "Forget about that stuff then. You want more fries? You don't mind sharing with me, right?"

I nod to that, "Mm! Thanks!"

*"*"*

"Are you sure you're OK?" I stare at Kazushi, while he's sitting on one of the chairs in the nurse's office. He gives me a light chuckle, nervous and embarrassed.

"Of-Of course. It's just a dizzy spell..." his face is twisted and I stare at him, in all my life I've never seen someone lie so terribly before. "...Argh!" he yells out in frustration, making me jump.

"I can't do it! I can't lie to you!" his frustrated eyes become overlapped with guilt, "Minato... I..." he looks down, trying to explain.

"You hurt your leg right?" the other jumps at that, "I noticed you were shifting awkwardly on your feet three days ago, when we first met."

He blinks and stares at me both amazed and in disbelief.

"W-was it that noticeable...?" he frowns.

"Not really, if I didn't join the track team I wouldn't have noticed a thing." which was true, I thought it was just a strange habit. But I noticed he put too much pressure on one of his legs, trying to support the other. Collapsing today, only clarified him having some kind of problem. "So what happened...? If you don't mind telling."

"My knee hasn't felt right... Since the first practice this year..." he looks down, "Even if I put medicine on it, or massage it, the pain won't go away."

_"He should really rest... But...__"_ I study the other's face, his face was determined to do something. Throw that together with the stubbornness he had, it would be impossible to convince.

"But, I can't afford to stop training, so I'll work through the pain!" he looks at me with stern eyes, "...Next year there's a national competition. There will be participants from all over Japan. The regional meet pales in compassion. I have to win at that meet! I can't afford to put my training on hold!"

Abruptly he grabs me by the shoulders, "There are a lot of nosy guys on the team. If they find out, they'll keep bugging me about it... Minato, please keep it a secret alright!?"

I shrink under his stare, I couldn't bring myself to say no. Not able to turn down his determination.

"...Fine, but if it gets any worse I'm going to stop whether you like it or not." I glare hard at him, but let a smile soften my expression up. "Can't lose my rival to something like this right?"

I chuckle lightly and he joins me with his own laugh, lightening up.

x

*"*"*

5/1

"Mornin'."

"Oh morning Yuka-tan!" I smile.

"It's getting warmer, huh?" she smiles at me, as we're walking through the gates. "Well it IS May already... It's amazing how time flies..."

"Yeah," I giggle, "It really does."

"Seriously! A lot's happened!" the brunette gapes, "Ya know, it doesn't seem like the number of apathy syndrome cases has been decreasing lately..."

_"True..."_ I frown a little.

"We're the only ones who can fight the shadows, so..." she thinks hard, "I guess we should train more, so we're ready if anything like THAT comes up again."

"I'm sorry," I smile wryly, "I'm still not allowed to join everyone, Mit-nee says I'll be allowed if I can manage to make a perfect marble though!"

"Huh, oh don't worry about that Ko-chan." Yukari gives me a bright smile, "I'm mostly worried about me, I don't want to burden everyone. You and Minato-kun have saved me more than enough, I need to get stronger to protect you both now."

I hear a light grunt from brother, but he doesn't say anything when I look over to him.

_"I guess they're still not warmed up to each other..."_ I frown at that.

x

"FYI," Jun-chan bops in his head between me and brother, startling me enough to jump. "Akihiko-senpai's at the hospital getting a checkup. He called me earlier, and asked me to bring him something." He grins, "Yup, he knows who to count on."

"He only asked you cuz you don't have anything else to do after school." Yukari steps in, next to me. I giggle at her remark.

"H-hey I resent that." Jun-chan's face makes the both of giggle harder.

"I'm just kidding. So, what'd he want you to bring?"

"Mm, I'm curious too. What is it?" I look to the capped other hoping he doesn't pull another, _whoops can't tell you_ on me again.

"The class roster for 2-E." I tilt my head at his answer.

"What's he want that for?" Yukari questions him, "Well, I don't have practice today, so I'll go with you. You're coming too right?"

"U-um... I got practice today, sorry..." I grab my books, "But Ni-chan you're free today right?"

"...Sure." he drowsily looks at the two, "I'll come..."

"C-cool." Yukari looks at me, I smile at her. She'll be fine, and Jun-chan was with her too.

"Anyway you guys have fun! I'll see if I can stop by after practice!" I giggle, running out the door quickly.

x

"I can't believe practice got cancelled... I wonder what happened..." I mumble, walking on the road. "Rio-chan looked sick though... So I guess that was good, practice was cancelled."

_"Though that means I have nowhere else but here to go..."_ I begrudgingly take steps closer to Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. Looking at it anxiously, feeling my stomach churn uncomfortably.

"Ugh..." I sigh out, "I don't want to go in there..." I pace around the front of the entrance a little longer, really hesitant of going in.

_"Maybe I could just wait back at school-"_ I shake out my thoughts when my face bumps into someone taller and broader than me.

"A-ah, I'm sorry...!" I rub my nose, in front of me was a maroon-colored coat. I glance up to seeing a tall man with long messy brown hair wearing a black beanie, he glared down at me with steel-colored eyes.

"Tch," he clicks his tongue, "Watch where you're going, idiot."

I felt something rouse in my chest, it felt painful and made me wince. My heart started pounding, making me shift on my feet uncomfortably as I try to calm myself down and ease down the pain.

"M-mm, s-sorry about that." I nervously glance back up at the man, he was taller than Minato not by a lot but a lot compared to me. When I looked up I noticed him looking at me.

"You..." he hesitates on his words, "You look like that other brat just now..."

"H-huh?" I felt my heart pound harder, starting to ring in my ears. "O-oh, u-um I-I'm..." I hold at hand to my head, feeling a little dizzy.

"Hey... If you're sick just head inside moron."

I can barely make out the taller man's appearance, his figure became blurred and veiled with a dreary black and white. For a moment I thought I saw and heard a horse of some sort and a man with a white face and long pale blonde hair sitting on-top with something pierced through his chest.

My chest started burning.

"N-no I'm a-alright... I-I..." my feet feel light and my body starts to weigh down heavily, "I j-just..." I hear a piercing scream ring in my ears, and I use my hands in a failed attempt to block out the sound.

My eyes felt hot.

I was crying.

"H-hey...!" the black figure disappears, and the man becomes visible again. He quickly supports me with his hands when I can't stand anymore.

"N-ni-chan," I hiccup, I felt sick and my breath became short and loud.

My world goes blank.

*"*"*

"H-hey isn't that Ko-chan...? A-and that guy who was visiting senpai...?" Takeba speaks up, I glance over to the entrance. There Minako and a tall man wearing a beanie were standing, the same man we saw just moments before.

"What's wrong with Ko-tan? H-hey the dude just grabbed her!" Junpei yells out, as I see the man quickly grab her shoulders.

"H-hey...! Isn't that bad!?" Takeba quickly paces up towards the two.

"O-Onii-chan!" her voice triggered me to run quickly over, sprinting past Takeba. Whisking Minako out of the stranger's arms, she's crying her eyes out hysterically and hyperventilating with short raspy breaths.

"Minako! Minako! Shh, calm down..." I drop us both down gently to the ground, "Shh, it's okay..."

"Shinji!? What's going on?" Sanada jogs over, I don't pay mind to it. Keeping all attention and focus on my sister.

"O-onii-chan," she chokes on her words and her red eyes were flooding with hot tears, "I-it...! I-I, it-it's sad...! A-and hurts...! I'm...!"

"Shh, it's okay..." I press her close to my chest, "Close your eyes, deep and slow breaths now..." I hum lowly to her, now glaring towards the tall man who still stood in front of us. His face seemed to be shocked, and confused.

"What did you do." I growl at him, petting Minako's head lightly but not letting my glare die down.

"Like I said," the other grunts, "She bumped into me then started freaking out and collapsed on me."

I glared harder at him, there was no way I could buy that. I scoop Minako up in my arms, "Don't you _ever_ come near her again." I snarl at him with pure rage, "If you do I'll make sure that next time you're not just _visiting_ a friend in the hospital."

I don't bother to wait for an answer and look over my shoulder at Junpei, "Junpei can you help hold Nee-san's bag?"_  
_

"R-right...!" the capped teen grabs the bag that was dropped on the ground, walking next to me and looking over Minako with worried eyes. "I-Is she alright...?"

"Let's just get back to the dorm."

x

5/2

"H-hey is Ko-chan feeling any better now...?" Takeba comes up to my desk after school, as Minako stayed back at the dorms in our room.

Refusing to come out.

I sigh, "Not really... She refused to tell me anything, thankfully Golden Week starts tomorrow. So hopefully she'll calm down then."

"I-If," I glance at Takeba, "If there's anything I can do to help, just ask...! Ko-chan, Minako is my friend after all...!"

I pause a moment, _"I see, she's reflected."_

"Alright, than just be by her side when she needs it." I smile lightly at her, but let out another sigh. "I wish I could head back earlier, but there's things I need to do."

Hopefully I could get something to cheer her up.

x

*"*"*

Dark Hour

"Hi, how've you been?" a child's voice chuckles at me, I lift my face off my pillow to look over the blue-eyed boy who stood in our room. "One week from now, there will be a full moon."

My eyes droop wearily at him, tired and sore from my fit during yesterday and this morning.

He smiles warmly at me, "Be careful. A new ordeal awaits you..."

"How did you get in here." the bed shifts and I see a hand protectively reach over me. Brother was awake this time.

"What kind of welcome is that? Besides I'm always with you." The boy frowns, clearly sad and hurt.

I slip out of brother's arm, sitting up in the bed and give the boy a light pat on his head. I give him a tired but warm smile, "It's nice to see you again."

His eyes go wide with surprise, and his lips curve up into a smile again. I start feeling a little better than before, the boy seems to teleport to the end of the bed, now sitting on the blue sheets.

"What about the full moon though...?"

"Yes, on such days you will face your greatest challenges. You must prepare for the ordeal, but time is of the essence... " he smiles, "I'm sure aware of that, of course. I'll come see you again when it's over. Goodbye for now."

Again the child melts into the darkness, as if he was never there.

"...Nee-san?"

"Mm, I'm okay... I actually feel a better now, I'm sorry about acting like that..." I climb back under the bed sheets, and lay next to Minato. "But I wonder what this ordeal is..."

I felt my eyes droop slowly, and sleep took me faster than I could hear brother's answer.

"...Be... Careful..."


	12. Second Moon

Here's another chapter, ehe. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 12: Second Moon**

5/9

"...Hmm."

"Ko-tan, what's up?" I open my eyes, looking over to Jun-chan sitting across from me in the lobby couches and next to me was Yukari on the nearby couch.

"O-oh, no it's nothing..." I scrunch my face grimacing, "For some reason, new personas keep showing up... It's starting to make my head spin..."

"Oh-Oh, I see..."

"Don't worry 'bout it Jun-chan." I giggle softly, though I was still a little worried and confused.

Since Golden Week had ended, I had constantly felt different voices and presences floating around my mind. I wasn't sure why though.

There was still Pixie and Apsaras from what I could tell but more started to join, the first was a small white snowman wearing a blue hood and smiling widely, he was called Jack Frost of the magician. The second was Unicorn, a white horse with golden eyes, hooves and a horn in its mane was of the priestess along with Apsaras.

The two most recent that joined, were Ara Mitama who was of the chariot and a heirophant named Omoikane. The formed looked like a upside-down curved water-drop that was red in color that had a face, which always seemed really angry. While the latter; Omoikane, was a jellyfish-like brain with eyes. I found these two gave me the most trouble, as they constantly shouted in my head.

I groan a little, feeling them stir again.

The door clicks open, catching everyone's attention and snapping me out my thoughts as my gaze wanders over to the entrance.

"U-um, Ni-chan..." I stare wearily at the large bag slung over brother's shoulder and on his back. It was large and looked really heavy, making queasy thinking about what was in it. "What's that for...?"

"I bought new equipment." He shrugs at me, there was light smile on his lips but his else spoke otherwise. "For Junpei mostly, seeing as he broke the last sword." I see the other rustle in his seat, he buries his nose into his comic.

"About tonight, it's just a hunch... but I think we should be on guard in case of something."

Was he talking about the warning we got?

"And Nee-san..." I look at brother's eyes, surprisingly I can't read them. "How is the...Training going?"

I grin widely at him and jump to my feet. I clasp my hands together, letting a cold aura grow in them and roused for the voices inside my head, calling for their magic. Two voices answer and echo in my ears, the first was a playful giggle that made ice chuck up and bulge into a large, rough shape in my hands. The second was a light kind voice that helped me make the cold chunk melt slowly into a crystal-clear shape.

In my hands was a simple palm-sized orb that was clear to the core and slowly dripped with water as it melted in the warmth of my hands.

"Ta-da!" I hold the orb up gently for show, proud and prideful about my work. This was starting to get easier, and the plus of having more personas in my head made it a lot easier to control the spell as long as they had the skill.

I nearly squeak when brother's head bobs next to mine, one of his fingers curiously trace over the orb's cold wet surface.

"Hmm, I guess having personas with the same skill makes it easier to use the skill..."

I make a muffled splutter, _"So that's why there were so many personas in my head lately!? I should have figured-"_

Dark Hour

I yelp, jumping into brother's chest and throw ball of ice in my hands, watching it tumble up through the air as it fell the ground to shatter. As the sound echoed in the lounge, the lights flash out being replaced by a dark emerald glow.

It was the dark hour. I groan loudly looking at my hands with disgust.

"Ah jeez, gross..." I choke, and look for something to wipe the new formed blood off my hands with.

"Here," a light-blue handkerchief was dangled in front my face, brother's of course. "Use this."

"Mm, I'll wash it later when... " I scrunch my face up as I wipe my hands of the sickening red ooze, "You know, the water isn't so gross."

He chuckles at me.

*"*"*

_BZZZZZT._

My body jumps as a loud ringing buzzes in the dorms, I wince from the sound.

"W-WHOA!" Takeba jumps, startled as well by the noise. "H-Huh, wha- Oh...! The alarm! We need to hurry to the command room!"

x

"Where is it!? I'll rip it a new one!" I nearly snort at how enthusiastic Junpei sounded.

"We're detected a shadow outside of Tartarus." the calmest spoke up, though she had worry laced in her eyes. "We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one."

"That's great." I grit my teeth and and my voice was dripping in a layer of sarcasm.

"We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible." Kirijo eyes were full of urgency, "Most people don't know the dark hour exists. But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs."

"In other words, we need to kick some ass right?" I winced at how excited Junpei was, did not hear that last part? "Well, count me in!"

I hear Takeba let out a sigh, like the one I was holding in.

"Akihiko, you stay here and wait for the chairman. You still need to recover. You'll just be a hindrance." I see the other growl, upset. "They'll fare better than you in your current state. Have faith in them Akihiko... They're ready."

"U-um! What about me...?" Minako chokes up on her words, finally speaking up. She's jittery with nervousness.

"Minako, I would like you to join as well. It'll be useful to have extra support with Takeba."

"O-okay, got it!" I click my tongue at her response, thankfully I bought her a real naginata just as a precaution.

But to think she would need to use it so soon.

"Relax! I've got it covered!" I was ready to punch Junpei now, but I hold it in.

There's no merit in injuring someone out of annoyance. Besides, I'm sure the other would grow out of this soon.

"I guess I've got no choice..." Sanada groans, still unpleased but he looks to me. "Minato, you're in charge."

"Him again...?" I hide down a smirk, the other's expression was priceless. Making me feel a lot better, about not being able to punch him.

"Right, first come downstairs after you're all ready." I tune back out of my thought quickly and take the lead, "I just bought new weapons, so don't bother grabbing your old ones. Meet down in the lobby as soon as you're ready. Kirijo we'll head out first, where are we meeting?"

"Right, let's rendezvous in front of the station."

"Got it," I see Takeba slide her arm into Minako's, dragging her quickly away for the two to get ready. "Alright, let's go!"

x

"...Ugh, there's blood all over the station..." Minako grumbled, my sister's shoulders were slung low, around her waist was a orange-red belt-bag much like my own. I made sure to have her carry plenty of soul items, some medicine and a few gems that we collected during the handful expeditions we prior to the night. Next to the bag was the evoker, the fake silver-gun hung on her left-side in its holster.

Both of them, the false gun and the naginata in her hands looked foreign and out of place.

"I wonder where Mit-nee is...?"

"She'll be here soon." Junpei pats sis on her shoulder, letting her shoulders ease up a bit.

"There's a full moon tonight..." Takeba's head is faced upwards to the night sky, "But, it looks even creepier during the dark hour..."

"E-eh... Is that so...?" under her strained laugh, lowly under her breath I could hear Minako mutter. "It's prettier than the blood you know..."

"Hmm? What was that?"

"H-huh...!" sis coughs trying to cover herself up, "O-Oh look Mit-nee- Oh-Oh, wow...!"

A roaring engine zips in, screeching to a halt nearby us at the station's stairs. We all turn to the motorcycle that drove in, and its rider.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Kirijo slips off the bike, taking her helmet off.

"A motorcycle...?" Takeba spoke out my exact thoughts though for most likely we different reasons to ask.

"Listen carefully. Tonight, I'll be providing support from here. Everything else is the same." the senior seems to dismiss the question, "The shadow is currently located inside a monorail, not far from the station."

I exhale a sharp breath, clenching the bridge of my nose in irritation. Not liking where this was going at all.

"To get there, you'll have to walk on the tracks."

"Are you serious!?" Junpei pales, "Isn't that dangerous...?"

"Haha, Jun-chan did you forget?" Minako giggles, hanging off of one of Junpei's arms. "The power's out until the green- I mean dark hour ends!"

Her red eyes wander over to the bike next to Kirijo, "Though, I'm not really sure how Mit-nee's bike works... Special equipment, maybe?"

"Yes, that's right."The red-headed senior laughs lightly, before putting her serious mask again. "Now, if circumstances change, I'll notify you immediately."

"Got it, let's go." I tap my feet up the stairs, heading inside the station and over to the tracks.

Letting out a long sigh I've been holding in all this time.

*"*"*

"O-oh wow..." I gawk a bit looking at the monorail that was still and frozen, "I never realized how weird that rainbow looked... And I didn't know the blue stripe was the water..."

Brother's voice chuckles at me again, "Kirijo said that the shadow's inside. Everyone stay together and don't stray ahead, got it, be sure to..."

_"Ah, that must be the ladder..."_ I move and jump up to the foothold that went up to the train's door, and start climbing up into the train. I yelp loudly when my feet slip and dangle off the steps. My arms were sprawled and clinging to the floor of the train, while the naginata ended clattering on the tracks.

"Ko-chan...!" I hear Yukari gasp behind me but her voice growls away from me, "Don't look up."

"Yeah yeah yeah..." I hear Jun-chan laugh a little, "But, don't blame us if we happen to catch a glimpse."

"Dude, that's my _sister_. Are you _sure_ about that." I nearly lose my grip on the train's floor, feeling a stinging chill behind my back.

"U-um, can I have..." I give a weak laugh, "A little help please...?"

"Nee-san, you should've waited for me to finish..." I smile over my shoulder with guilt on my face, "Here."

Two hands push my feet up, letting me climb safely into the car.

"Phew," I let out a sigh and turn around to look out the door, "Thanks Ni-chan! I'll help pull everyone up."

x

"G-Geh!" I jump at the sight of the glowing red-coffin, "Man that scared me..."

"This poor stiff must be a passenger..."

"I would hope so," I huff, gripping the naginata in my hands. It was a lot heavier than before, guess it really was real. "I don't think I could use the monorail ever again if there was an actual-"

_SLAM._

The doors in the car all smash shut. Both me and Yukari jump at the loud sound.

"What!?" I see brother run to one of the doors, trying to pry it open.

"_-What's wrong? What happened!?-_"

"Kirijo, we're trapped inside." Minato kicks the train's door, "I can't believe I didn't notice it... We fell right in that thing's trap. Everyone be on guard!"

"_-Proceed with extreme caution!-_"_  
_

"Okay- Aah!" I shriek, when a shadow swings in front us from the door. It was a hollow head-like shadow with long black hair that floated in the air, wearing a red-violet mask and a strange globe-like green crown with a book hanging inside it. As fast as it swung out, it spun around and ran ahead to the next car.

"Hey, get back here!"

"_-Wait! Something's not right... The enemy is acting strangely.-_"

"But if we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it!" Jun-chan's hopping on his feet, with his long sword.

"Junpei, stop we need to be careful, we're already trapped-"

"Who needs your advice!?" I jump from Jun-chan's outburst that cuts brother off, "We can beat that thing no problem!"

"Wait-! Junpei don't-"

"Hell, I'll do it myself!" Jun-chan spins to the door and runs ahead, without thinking I quickly run after him.

"J-Jun-chan! Wait!"

*"*"*

"Nee-san!" I try run ahead to catch the two, but growling interrupts me from behind. I turn over and see two of the same shadows, much like the one from before. "Argh, this is just what they wanted...!"

"Aah!" Takeba holds her arms in front of to block a garu spell that breezed through her, I grab her from behind and yank her away from the shadows. Slashing at the closest one with my sword.

"Kirijo! Please focus supporting Nee-san and Junpei!" I slash at it again, making it scream as it dissolved. "We're going to move quickly and catch up here!"

"_-Roger!-_" the voice buzzes out and I hack away at the second shadow, killing it off.

"Ugh..." I growl furiously, "What was he thinking..."

"What was he thinking!? Dammit, Stupei!" I hear Takeba growl, mad as I was. _"Maybe we'll get along better than-"_

"LOOK OUT!" I grab her arm, pulling again and jab my sword into another book shadow. When she spins out of my grip, I quickly grab the evoker on my side. "AGI!"

A red angry-looking persona came out, Ara Mitama. Who was the few personas I worked on trying to fuse after getting that warning. The thing rotated in the air releasing a spit of fire at the shadows that had books, leaving just the cross-scale one left.

"I got it!" Arrows zips by head and pierce right through the 'head' of the scale, killing it on spot.

"...If you didn't have such good aim I would have snapped that bow of yours."

"Uh... I'll just take that as a compliment..." Takeba steps over to the fallen shadow, grabbing the two arrows she shot. Putting them back in her quiver. "And... Um, thanks... For saving me again."

"Sorry." I drop the word lowly, grabbing my own weapon off the ground.

"H-huh? What are you saying sorry for...?" I don't look over to Takeba as we move to the next car.

"U-uh,...About before, " my throat makes a quiet whine, feeling a bit awkward. "I was harsh without really thinking how you felt... I mean, Nee-san was like a different person after the accident... But I still had her by my side."

Our footsteps and silence are what answer me.

"B-but..." I choke a little, "I g-get if you hate me and all... But I just wanted to say I'm sorry and I don't hate you... So please be friends with Nee-san... She really likes you..."

A snort answers me this time, and her footsteps stop. I look around to see her holding her hands to her mouth, her shoulders were shaking a bit.

"U-uh..."

"O-oh wow...! Ko-chan was right!" the brunette was laughing hard, but she stops to look at me with a smile. "I want to say sorry too, that we were both insensitive I guess... Friends?"

"Heh," a smirk crawls up my lips, "Course, _Yuka-tan_."_  
_

"H-hey!"

"I'm just joking Yukari," I laugh at her, "Anyway let's get going, we need to beat some sense into our other _friend_."

*"*"*

"Take this, you freak of nature!" Jun-chan yells as he hits the Heat Balance that lingered in the car.

"Haa-" I wheeze, winded from the strange maneuvering I ended up doing to avoid being attacked. "M-monorails are not meant for shadow fights..."

_THUMP._

"H-huh!?" the floor shakes, "J-Jun-chan that was you right!?"

"U-uh..." my throat becomes dry, when the train starts to move. "Whoa, what the!? Why're we moving!?"

"M-Mit-nee, what's happening!?" I grab onto a nearby metal rod, to support myself from the train's jolt.

"_-It seems the monorail is under the enemy's control...-_"

"Uh... I-Isn't that kinda bad!?" my eyes stare out the windows, watching the scenery fly by.

"Y-yeah, this doesn't look good." I see Jun-chan's face whiten up.

"_-If we don't stop that thing, it'll crash into another train!-_"

"WHAT!?" my voice chokes, "M-Mit-nee, me and Jun-chan will head ahead to the front car! Hurry and tell Ni-chan and Yuka-tan about this!"

"T-the front car!? What are we going to go there for!?"

"We need the brakes! Jun-chan come on we have no time to lose," I think hard and quickly, "T-there should be manual brakes up there, Mit-nee!?"

"_-Yes, but be careful. I sense a strong presence in the front car, that must be the one we're after. I'll inform Arisato and Takeba to quickly chase after you too.-_"

"Right!" the voice buzzes out, "Jun-chan come on! We're the closest to the front car, we need to- Eek!"

"What kind of messed-up ride is this!?" the other quickly slashes down at the new hands that formed in the mist that poured in front of us.

"Geh- We don't have time for this! Agi! Jun-chan agi!" my legs feel like jelly but my hands were still working, I quickly grab my evoker to call out Ara Mitama. "Ara-chan! Burn them up!"

The red-drop spins and spits out flames, burning up the table that laughed even when it was burning to dust.

"HERMES!" Jun-chan called out Hermes, with his own burning agi that hit the hands.

"Okay let's hurry, and just run past most of the shadows ahead-!" I force myself on my wobbling legs, and run quickly through the door gripping both the evoker and naginata in my hands.

x

"There it is!" Jun-chan runs ahead of me into the front car, "What the hell!?"

I choke, when I see what he was talking about.

In front of us with the controls behind, was a large woman; half-black and half-white, with similar fashioned hair that were curled and tied up behind her blood-violet mask. On her head with her curled hair were silver and black scroll-like stripes that flowed all around in the car. The large shadow was slouched against the controls with her legs spread open, a slash with a crescent-emblem buckle was the only thing that cover her skin and on her chest I could see two letters: a B and a J.

Next her on each side was a smaller shadow, they looked a lot like the Spurious Books. Just minus the book and had a smaller crown that a light redish-grey.

Her lips moved as if she were speaking, and her shoulders swung side to side.

As if to taunt us.

"...Is this the friggin' boss?"

"It's got to be! Come on the train's starting to move faster...!" I breath heavily, readying my evoker. "Pixie!"

The blue fairy comes to me, giggling as she casts Rakunda on the shadow. Who retaliates by using her own magic, making gold strands hit Jun-chan.

"J-Jun-chan!" I panic, he was panicking worse than I was. That wasn't good at all, I lift the gun back up again. "Omo-chan!"

I call out Omoikane, that casts a his Me Patra onto Jun-chan to calm him down. I yelp in pain when I feel a tight squeeze in my chest, I hear the jellyfish-like brain screech as well, before he retreats into my mind. Spinning on my heel I see one of the smaller shadows behind me, I quickly smack it hard with the naginata. Making it spatter at the blade.

"Okay Jacky! Sonic punch!" the snowman, Jack Frost laughs as he pops out of the air and flings himself towards the large shadow, throwing a strong punch in her stomach. She moaned in pain, the sound sent shivers throughout my spine. "T-THERE'S SERIOUSLY SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU MISS...!"

"KO-TAN! Not the time for that!" the shattering of glass bring me back, "CLEAVE!"

I watch Hermes swoop down, and slash at the shadow. Again she moaned.

"O-Okay, I-I've seen more than enough! I'M HEARING MORE THAN I NEED TO!" I cry in a panic and lift the gun up, "ARA-CHAN! JACKY! AGI AND SONIC PUNCH!"

I make sure to fire twice in a row, summoning out Ara Mitama for his fire and Jack Frost for his cold punch. "Jacky first and Ara-chan please don't hit Jacky...!"

The two personas listen to me, and do as they were asked. Making the shadow make more of those irking sounds. My eyes glance over to Jun-chan, "J-Jun-chan!"

"Right...!" he runs up and gives a hefty swing with his sword, "TAKE THIS!"

His sword slash through the woman, and she makes another disturbing sound before her body becomes washed over with a red mist and her pale hand reaches forward to us. Her lips move and smile at me, making me shudder as she melts into black mist.

"I-is it over...?" I wheeze, falling to my knees. Letting my body finally give in, I was shaky all over. "W-wait, why are we still moving!?"

*"*"*

"Where're...brakes!? The brakes!?"

"Wasn't that Junpei's voice!?" Yukari looks over to me as we finish off another group of shadows that ambushed us.

"_-What are you waiting for!? There's a train up ahead!-_" Kirijo's voice isn't directed at us, but it gives us more reason to quickly rush to the front car.

"Dammit! I don't know how to stop this thing!" Junpei's voice is clear now, and I could see the two of them looking frantically at the front of the car. I sprint and jump over to them.

*"*"*

"MOVE IT!" the voice startles me but I listen pushing Jun-chan out of the way. Minato slid drown in front of the controls and quickly grabbed onto a lever next to the side. "EVERYONE GRAB ON SOMETHING, NOW!"

He yanks it down, and the train's wheels screech out as it comes to a quick halt.

"EEK!" I felt myself fall backwards, my eyes shut tightly embracing for impact.

x

"_-Is everybody alright!?-_" I peek through an eyelid, when the vibrates stop. Around me was one of brother's arms, as he was holding his ground on the train's floor. He let out a long breath.

"Uh, y-yeah, we're okay." I hear Yukari shake in her voice, "Ha, haha... My knees are shaking..."

"Dude... I'm like drenched in sweat..." Jun-chan chokes up, "Hey, are you okay, Ko-tan?"

"Y-yeah that was a breeze... Haha..." I give a crooked smile, "Also Jun-chan... Go shower."

I hear him snort, lifting the heavy air up a bit.

"But, how did you know which one was the brake?"

"Instincts I guess," I see brother groan a little, "Ugh, I'm tired..."

As soon as silence grew in, my stomach rumbled loudly that made me fluster.

"I guess I'm not the only one hungry," Jun-chan laughs with a grin on his face, "Wanna go grab a bite to eat?"

"Mm! That would be great- After the dark hour's up though," I snort, "Did you know there was one time Ni-chan drank water when it was the dark hour? His face when he spat it out was hilarious!"

"N-Nee-san, I thought we agreed never to talk about that again."

I laugh loudly, as we walk back out to the train. Though tonight was crazy, it was fun to spend time with everyone. I smile, thinking of when we can spend more time together and maybe go for things like karaoke and other things that were normal and a bit safer.

I freeze, feeling something stir coldly in my chest and was like a heavy weight on my heart.

_**Will you decide...?**_

"Nee-san...?" I look up to see brother glancing at me, with his silver eyes. They looked tired, "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," I smile at him, "Come on let's go home!"


	13. Lax

Slowly making our way through! I hope you do enjoy.

Updates may slow down a bit though, as I'm being told I need more sleep, aha.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Lax**

5/11

"Aah... ACHOO...!"

"Nee-san, are you catching a cold...?" I look over to Minako as she's sniffling.

"Ni-chan I just sneezed," she giggles at with her red eyes, "It's nothing, also warning for you! Better start studying, cause midterms start next week."

"Ugh..." I hear a groan behind me, "Don't remind me Ko-tan..."

"Ehe, that's what happens when you sleep in class!" she puts a triumphant fist to her chest, "Lucky for you I got all the notes you need and cause Mit-nee said she promises a gift if I score the highest, I'll even help you study."

She smirks with a devious, plotting look in her eyes.

"Really!? You'll let me borrow them too?"

"Of course," her smile grows, "But-! You got to treat me to food!"

"Always with the food, man is your stomach a black hole or something?"

I snort, "It's amazing how she's still slim."_  
_

"Jeez, rude Ni-chan. Besides that why you-" I see her gasp, "Ooh shoot! I got practice with Rio-chan today..."

"Why sound so down Ko-tan?" she really did, "You were so pumped when you first joined!"

"U-uh, well it's just some girl talk and Ms. Kanou's... Never mind." she gives us a toothy grin, "I better get going, see ya!"

My sister spins on her heel, giving her step a jolly bounce. But I know her better than that and frown, looking to Junpei after she leaves, seeing worry washed over his face as well.

x

5/12

"Hey Minato," I flinch, lifting my head up slightly off my desk. Seeing through the strands of my blue fringe, Kenji. "Dude, Yukari-san's pretty hot..."

I'm tempted to smack my head on the table, he was never going to shut up about that was he?

"I bet she has really high standards..." he takes the seat next to me, "She probably won't even look at a guy unless he's really good-looking."

_"Or saves her life..."_ I hold in a hiss, seeing at the other was warmed up to me and was friends with Junpei. It would have rude to chase him away, even if I was really tempted to.

_"Maybe I could get away with 'accidentally' let my hand slip to punch him..."_ I muse the thought briefly, but decide against it. My sister knew me too well, for me to get scotch free.

"...Well, it doesn't matter to me, anyway. I'm not really interested in her."

_"Then would you stop talking about her to me..."_ I groan, now moving to stretch up completely.

"Hey, there's something I wanna talk to you about. So can we hang out, maybe?"

I shrug, seeing as Minako was busy with the health committee and the other seemed like he wouldn't take no for an answer. Looks like I wouldn't be able to get away today.

"...Fine."

"Great, then let's head to Hagakure!"

_"Always with the ramen..."_ I try not to roll my eyes, just like Junpei. _"Two peas in a pod I guess..."_

x

"Tch!" the clicking of the other's tongue catches my attention, "Dude, I'm so sick of this..."

"What, life?" I asked as a joke, almost tempted say ramen then but, seeing how he was stuffing his mouth and slurping it down, that didn't seem like something I should joke about.

He was such a ramen-fanatic, I don't think I've ever met something so crazy in love with ramen.

"Life?" he laughs at me, "Dude, you watch too much reality TV."

I grunt, and try to take a bite out of my bowl full of steaming noodles. I fail miserably, making them plop back into the broth as the heat burns my tongue.

_"I can take full out burns, fighting and get stabbed but I still can't eat hot ramen."_ I chuckle dryly at myself, taking a sip of cool water.

"...But, yeah, I guess you could say I'm sick of life." I raise a brow at the other, he did know I meant that as joke, right?

"I mean, I wake up, go to school, listen to lame-ass lectures, come home, eat, watch TV, go to sleep..."

He pauses to think a bit, before smiling at me with a glint in his eyes.

"Well, Minato, that settles it. I'm gonna get myself a girlfriend."

If I was eating or drinking something right then, I would have probably spat it out at the other. What kind of reasoning was that?

"Go for it." I decide to play along, and finally take a bite of noodles.

"Thanks dude! Soon I'll have a girlfriend," I watch him a bit amused, "Just like you."

Cue choking.

"W-What!?" I cough out and gawk at him, feeling red ting at my cheeks. "I don't- ugh, never mind. So are you going along with that secret plan of yours? Asking out that teacher you have an eye on?"

"Oh, yeah dude." he gives me a hearty laugh, with a bit of a embarrassed flush. "I'm gonna ask her out and make her fall in love with me."

I decide not to say that it's usually the other way around, and doesn't normally work that way.

"So, who is it...?" I guess I should act a little interested, maybe he'll shut up about Yukari.

I had no plans to date anyone to begin with.

"Her name is Ms. Kanou." His wide grin annoys me a bit, "She teaches twelfth grade ethics, I'm totally acing her class."

I recall Minako mentioning her before, something about the tennis club. She seemed to regard her with an unpleasant face, which was rare for her to actually dislike someone.

I guessed this was going to end a tragedy, though it's expected aiming for someone probably years older than you and was your teacher.

"She's not the most beautiful woman, but she's really cute." I could swear I was seeing hearts fly out of his head, "She has pretty eyes, a nice little body, and..."

I try to drone out his love-struck ramble of the teacher, this was almost worse than listening to him gush about Yukari.

"Hey, man, don't tell anyone about this, okay?" finally he stopped, "You're the only one who knows."

"Haa..." I keep myself occupied by slurping down some more noodles.

x

*"*"*

5/13

"Why do you like her?" I look over to Rio, she looked blank and curious over to Kenji, her childhood friend. That interrupted tennis practice like last time, though it was still just Rio and I that were on the field.

The rest of the club still hadn't shown up since that argument about the group date.

_"Yeah, how do you even like Ms. Kanou..."_ I watch Kenji as he gushes on about Ms. Kanou, the club advisor.

The same one I haven't seen since the first day of tennis practice and didn't even know the rules for it either. Yet the other was praising her for it, despite it making absolutely no sense. _"__ If this is what being in love is like, I'm just going to stick to Ni-chan..."_

"...Huh? You're such a kid, Rio-san." I groan, watching him. "Listen up, okay? It's got nothing to do with logic or reason... Love is something that just happens whether you like it or not!"

I'm taken by surprise, the other's words actually sounded mature and a little romantic.

"But seriously, don't tell anyone about this, got it? I don't even want you and Minako-san talking about me! Okay!?"

"It just happens...?" I see Rio's face twist, confused and Kenji runs off. I don't pay mind to him, keeping my eyes on Rio. "Love... It just happens to you?"

I shrug lightly at her, not too sure of the idea either."It looks that way."

"He doesn't make any sense at all..." Rio's face go down, "It'll never 'just happen' to me..."

I see her eyes glance off to where Kenji walked off to, and give her a petite smile.

"Rio-chi, how about we get back to practice?" I give her a pat, twirl the racket in my hands. As a silent challenge towards my friend.

Her lips smile and eyes are no longer hazy, looking at me. Accepting my little challenge.

x

*"*"*

5/16

"Mai-chan! I found you!"

"Aah! How'd you find me so fast Onee-chan?"

The voices I hear make me smile warmly, I could hear Minako's laughter accompanied by another; Maiko. A little girl who she begged us to go see, after overhearing how at the shrine there would be a little girl playing all by herself.

It didn't take long for my sister to adore and fawn all over the small child. They played energetically together and there was a time Minako had spent almost half her allowance, dotting on Maiko. I laugh, remembering that day.

Just maybe Maiko would find the courage to get through the problems at home, if not we would help her for sure.

My smile falls.

_"She's always alone..."_ I drop a low sigh, walking up the steps of the shrine. Seeing the two of them happily chasing each other around on the playground nearby, carrying in my arms snacks and drinks for the two.

_"I guess there's some kids that would be better off without their parents..."_

I somber at that.

"Oh-! Ni-chan, look look Mai-chan Onii-chan came back with some snacks!" the two knock me out of my thoughts, literally. As they give me a large tackle, Maiko wrapped her arms and clung onto my leg with Minako squishing her chest and arms over mine, nearly crushing the snacks and drinks.

"Opf- Are you trying to waste food?" I laugh, nudging my head at Minako's to pry her off.

"Ni-chan!" she gasps, quickly taking the drinks in my arms with a playful smile on her lips. "I would never!"

Chuckling, I fumble the snacks carefully to one arm so I could pat Maiko on the head lightly for her attention. "Here you go Maiko, your favorite."

I knelt as far I could with the short girl still hanging off my leg, waving a plate of takoyaki (minus the tako, so yaki?) in front of her.

"Oh! Thank you Onii-chan!" I smile, watching her eat the strange takoyaki while Minako opens the can of Mad Bull for her. She chugs it down almost as fast as Minako.

"Thank you, Onii-chan, Onee-chan! You're always playing with me!" the girl smiles cheerfully, chewing on another takoyaki with a bit of sauce on her mouth. My eyes smile, I was glad to cheer her up.

"Ehehe, Mai-chan's so cute!" Minako giggles, wiping her face with a napkin. "Onee-chan just wants to keep you alllll to herself!"

I smirk, "Onii-chan would be sad then."

They both laugh loudly with wide grins on their faces, falling into each other's arms for a large hug with their tongues stuck out teasingly towards me.

"Bleh! Too bad," Minako smirks back and snuggles warmly to the smaller girl, "Mai-chan's all mine, Onii-chan can't take her!"

_Thou hast established a new bond...  
__Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Hanged Man Arcana..._

_"Really annoying."_ I keep a smile on my face.

Ignoring that stupid voice.

x

*"*"*

5/23

"Haaaaah...?" my nose wrinkles at the stench of alcohol, "Wha'chu lookin' at...?"

"Whaddya want...?" I hear Jun-chan's voice rumble with disgust, "Get outta here."

"Jun-chan," I slip my arms into his, "Let's just go."

"...Yeah, you're right." I pull us away from the drunk man, quickly making our way over to Hagakure. I could feel Jun-chan's arm was tense for the entire way and his face was kept in a scorn even in the building.

I quickly place an order for the both of us, leaving us to ourselves for a bit and for Jun-chan to steam out some of his anger.

"Uh... Sorry." he groans loudly, "I... don't like seeing drunks like that. Well I doubt that anyone actually likes seeing people like that. Haha..."

He laughs dejectedly, and for the first time I hear Jack Frost let out a sound that wasn't cheery.

My heart stirred, uncomfortable and worried.

"...You," my eyes pop over to him, "...You don't have any parents, right?"

I keep still but slowly nod, he seems to hesitate on his words.

"I know that this'll make me sound like an ass...But I kinda envy you..." I blink at him not feeling offended but just surprised. "There have to be some parents that their kids would be better off without..."

I bite my lip, piecing it together. "T-That's not true!"

"Oh... Sorry." he looks down again, "You must've had good parents... Sorry."

No, I wouldn't know. I can't remember them, but there's no such thing as someone being all good or bad.

_"We all have a side to ourselves we want to hide..."_ I nibble my lips, my voice seemed to dry out and my throat was shut tight. Stopping me from voicing out my thoughts to the other.

Our conversation gets briefly paused, interrupted by our orders arriving. Somehow I could only taste its slimy oil under the suffocating air.

"My... Dad was always drinking." he pauses, hesitating again. "He'd just sit there and drink, all by himself..."

I see his shoulders rise up slowly and descends quickly down as he inhales a deep breath, sighing deeply.

"And every time he did, he'd get violent over the stupidest stuff... But... it doesn't hurt at all anymore." I could feel my heart cry in his place, "When I was a kid and acted up, I'd get spanked and it would really hurt."

I take a sharp breath, but keep silent listening to the other.

"But now... He's lost what strength he had, and I didn't even notice it..." his face is washed over with grief but he masks it up with a chuckle, "Whoa... Sorry for bringing that up. I must really be boring you. C'mon, let's talk about something fun!"

"How'd you think you do on the midterms?" I give him a bright smile trying to be his support and cheer him up, giving him a giggle when he groans loudly but has a light smile in his eyes.

"Come on Ko-tan, how is that 'something fun'!" his eyes are light and smiling with me.

I just keep grinning.

x

The two of us walk back to the dorm, there was still a wide grin on my face. As I glanced at Jun-chan, he was looking a lot better than a few hours ago.

"We're home!" I sing, with peppiness in my steps as we walk through the doors.

"Ah, you're back." we're greeted by Akihiko-senpai, that was smiling cheerfully. I notice the sling and wraps around his arm was gone, and his posture seemed a lot laxer now.**  
**

_"Is he better now...?"_

"Senpai, I hear you're fully healed!" I glance over my shoulder, seeing Yukari just stepping in. I give smile her to say welcome back, I could faintly smell the fragrance of flowers.

What a nice smell.

"Congrats, man!" Jun-chan congratulated the senior, I give a sheepish nod in agreement. It was good that he was finally healed.

I just hoped it stayed that way.

"I need to catch up on my training," scratch that thought, "I've slacked off for a whole month."

I hear a low hissing coming from brother's direction, he was slouched against a wall. I'm wasn't too sure what it meant but I think brother called Akihiko-senpai...

_"Did he just call him a muscle-brain...?"_ I decide not question him, he seemed to still be giving the cold shoulder towards the seniors and Ikutsuki-san.

"Shouldn't you take it easy, though? You don't wanna reinjure your arm."

"Yes, I second with Yukari..." brother's voice hisses loudly for everyone to hear, "It would be a _shame_ if it did."

The senior seems to ignore it or was just too excited to notice.

Along with the tense, awkward atmosphere that grew from brother's cold glare.

"I've already wasted precious time." he smiles with a glaring light in his eyes, still obvious of brother's obvious disdain to him. "Besides, we found another persona-user."

"We did!?" Jun-chan jumps to the news, "Sweet! Is it a girl...?"

I snort a laugh at the other, feeling the air ease up a bit as brother covers up a snort.

"Actually it is." Akihiko-senpai looks at our direction, "She's a junior who goes to our school. Fuuka Yamagishi... Do you guys know her?"

I think for a bit, and come up with nothing. _"I wonder what she's like..."__  
_

"Yamagishi...? Oh, that girl in 2-E..." I look over to Yukari with curious eyes, "She gets sick a lot, from what I heard... I don't see her at school very often."

"She was at the same hospital as me. That's how we found out about her."

_"Is it really a good idea to ask someone who was at a hospital just recently to join..."_ I was pretty sure firing a gun at your head as a 'club' activity and fighting shadows, was something people would like to do.

I change my mind about the last part, thinking of Jun-chan and Akihiko-senpai.

_"I hope she doesn't have to join... But meeting her would be nice..."_

"But, maybe she's not cut out for battle." I ease up a bit but feel a bit of Akihiko-senpai's disappointment rub off me, "I had an evoker made for her, too..."

"What!? We're giving up on her already!?" Jun-chan gapes, "I was gonna offer her some private lessons..."

"What kind of lessons?" I couldn't think of Jun-chan possibly teaching a girl who was sickly to handle a two-handed sword, brother would be better to teach that sort of thing too.

"Heheh," I tilt my head at the other as he lets out a chuckle, "I'll that to your imagination."

"Ugh..." both Yukari and Minato groan together, staring at Jun-chan, I glance between the two of them, confused.

"U-um, am I missing something...?"

x

5/25

I snicker when I hear Jun-chan groan in his tears from the exam results.

"Come on Jun-chan, lighten up a bit! You did pretty good!" Sure it was a little low, but a lot better than what he would've got if I didn't cram all my notes at him. I whisk out another giggle, when he looks teary.

My eyes hover over the board again, and squint when I see brother's score: sixth.

"Ni-chan didn't you just skim notes last minute...? Huh oh," I look at the second place more carefully, "Isn't this...Fuuka-san, oh wow...! She did really well!"

"Says the one in first place..." I snort at the other's whining.

"Like the saying goes!" I quote, sticking my tongue out playfully as a tease towards Jun-chan. "You snooze you lose!"


	14. Sickness

Even though I was told to sleep more, I'm having more trouble ah.

Nevertheless, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 14: Sickness**

5/25

I nearly choke on air as I listen to the other ramble, I felt myself grow irritated.

_"... Ignorance is bliss I guess."_ My eyes are narrowly staring at Kenji, he came out of no where when I was about to leave class and head up for track. For once, he didn't start blabbering on about Yukari but in exchange he started with something I didn't need to know.

"She said yes man, YES!" the other's grin is wide, his eyes were jumping with joy. "Emiri even invited me over!"

"...Emiri?" he seriously wasn't talking about that teacher by first name, right?

"Yeah, since we're going out and all," he smirks at me, "I thought it would be weird to call her Ms. Kanou."

"Oh," my eyes twitch a bit, this was really going to end badly.

I could just feel it in my bones.

"Well, I have to go to track... Good luck."

May the other not suffer too much of a heartbreak.

*"*"*

"He's such an idiot. He's just being toyed with!" I'm jolted by Rio's sudden burst but even more shocked when tears start spilling out of her black eyes, "He'll just end up hurt in the end..."

"R-Rio..." I wasn't too sure what to say, after all I barely knew Kenji or how their friendship was.

"Why..." her pale face is written with hurt, making it painful to watch the hot tears stream down her flushed eyes. "Why'd he choose someone like her...!? Why..."

I inch closer to the other, giving her head a gentle stroke. Like Minato would do for me when I was upset, I just hoped it would sooth her like it did for me. My fingers glide smoothly over her black silky hair.

"Why..." she casts her face downward, looking ready to fall down to her knees. "Why wasn't it me? Why...?"

"I... didn't know I was such a nasty person. I've got these terrible feelings inside me..." she starts sobbing her eyes out, " I hate myself... What is wrong with me?"

I give up on trying to pet her hair gently like brother would for me, wrapping my arms around her.

In the end, I guess love really did 'just happen' to her. It only took a little longer to realize.

"Rio, shhh," I rub her back tenderly, as she continues to cry. "It's okay, just let it out for now."

I stayed by her side, continuing to tend to even the softest weep.

_"Love is a more complicated than I thought..."_

x

*"*"*

5/27

"Uh..." I hold in my laughter, watching Minako glare at the note which was hanging on the door of the economics room. In a futile attempt to try and translate it, she huffs out loudly with frustration.

A snort manages to sneak out.

"Join fashion club," I glance lightly over the french words, "Meetings are, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday."

"Oh! So it's a fashion club?" Minako stares hard at the note again, "...It looks nothing like that."

"It _is_ french Nee-san," I grin joyfully amused by her, "You wanted to come see it didn't you? Let's go."

I pull slide open the door, and we're both overwhelmed by the number of mannequins that were standing around. All with various bits and pieces of clothing, the room was filled with the light humming of a sewing machine.

"...Yatta, yes! Zis eez ze best sewing I 'ave done!"

I should've expected it would be the exchange student in charge, I couldn't think of anyone else would know french.

Well maybe Kirijo, but I couldn't see her make her own club.

Especially considering how busy she is.

"Ah! Bebe-kun," I could almost hear the shine in Minako's voice, "We haven't seen since the bookstore! It's good to see you again!"

The other, looked up brightly to sis' voice. With a delighted smile directed at us both, his name I've honestly forgotten. It was too long for me to keep in.

"Oh!? Konnichiwa, hello Minako-sama, Minato-sama!" he smiles, "You came! I am very 'appy!"

"What are you doing?" sis giggles cheerfully, as she sways lightly on her toes. With a warm smile that lit up her face, her eyes looked curious at the black fan with gold butterflies that was held in the blonde's hand.

"I am learning ze art of sewing!" he closes the fan, twirling the stick with pep. "Zis eez tanoshii, very fun! Would you like to like to try?"

"Sure! Looks fun," her head turns to me, with glittering red eyes. "Right, Ni-chan?"

I flinch.

It was impossible for me to decline, with the way both of them were cornering me with puppy eyes. Whether they were doing it on purpose or not I wasn't sure. Only I felt completely defeated and trapped, I slowly nod.

"Honto!? Really!? Arigatou, thank you! " his face was sparkling with joy, "I was sad because I did not 'ave any tomodachi-friends-since I came to Nihon-Japan... But, now I am 'appy!"

I could see Minako spinning at how fast the other was talking, she makes a little tense chuckle.

"Mm...!"

I make a sharp breath, cursing as that stupid shatter banged loudly in my head. A blue card forms in front of my eyes.

_"Of course. I should have seen this coming..."_

The card flips over, showing its Arcana with its printed white number on the border; XIV. Fourteenth, Temperance.

The image of the card was separated in four sections by wavy black lines with a ringed circle in the center. The top left was a deep blue with a steaming chalice on it, next to it on the right was a red space with four triangles glued together. The bottom left was a pale yellow and had some kind of bird on it and the final section was a grayish-blue with four squares, two white and two black, place on top of each other.

And again there was that voice.

_Thou art I... And I am thou...  
Thou hast established a new bond...  
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Temperance Arcana..._

"...Oh by ze way..." the world was coming back to focus again, my eyes glance over to Bebe, "I was wondering 'ow you bid farewell in Nihongo-Japanese..."

"Aishitemasu! Just kidding, heehee," Minako roars out a laughter when I choke, coughing over her words. "Mata ne! See you later!"

"Wakarimashita, I understand! Mata ne!"

"Heehee, bye!"

x

5/28

"S'up dude!?" my head groans at the loud shout, only Junpei would be yelling this earlier in the morning. "So, whaddya think...?"

Groggily my eyes look over to him, still weary with sleepiness. He seemed to be jumpy with excitement of sorts.

"What're you excited about?" sis was giggling with a smile on her lips.

"Oh yeah... Of course you wouldn't be be too interested in girls..."

"H-hey...! What's that suppose to mean! I like girls!" I hold in a snort of how Minako misunderstood what the other meant, "What's this about girls anyway- ooh! You're talking about Fuuka-chan, right!"

Junpei's excitement seemed to infect my sister like the plague. She was bouncing in her steps with gleaming eyes and a bright smile on her face.

"Yeah! I know I've seen her before," Junpei has a wide grin on his face, almost tempting me to smack him.

Almost.

"She looks kinda weak, but it only make me want to protect her, ya know?"

"Still haven't given up? Hehe, sounds just like you Jun-chan." Minako flutters a bit in her steps, her swaying body made me worry but her smiling face passed it off as just her usual daydreaming. "I wonder what she's like...?"

My spine shivers involuntarily, startling me a bit. I shrug it off, it was probably just a chill in the morning air.

x

*"*"*

"Some of you might think that magic lets you do absolutely anything. Pulling pranks on people, hurting your enemies..." Mr. Edogawa makes a stern express, at least I think, I couldn't tell very well with his glasses. "If that's what you think, then you'll never learn magic."

I gave him my full attention, this lecture would be useless for school but thankfully it could help me a lot when I was practicing my own magic.

"Those with wicked hearts will either be powerless, or be driven to ruin." that was more than enough to scare me, though I would never do that. Unless I was protecting someone.

Mentally, I nod at myself and make a checklist in my head of what to do and not do.

"There's one more thing that can't be forgotten when learning magic." I blink my eyes, curiously at the teacher, "That is a 'master.' You should aspire to become as good as your predecessors, especially if you're studying difficult magic. If you don't have a master, learning the black arts will be impossible."

_"Would my 'master' count as you all in my head or Mit-nee?" _

My heart rustles with noise, _"Alright, you guys are my masters,"_ I giggle quietly, _"Please treat your student well."_

The noise becomes laughter that was light and fuzzy, warming my heart right up. Letting a warm and content smile creep up on my lips.

x

5/30

"Did you hear? About that girl in 2-E...?"

"Yeah, they haven't got a clue..."

I frown, grumbling a bit. It seemed like everyone was gossiping about the girl who was collapsed in front the school in the morning. It was a little annoying to hear.

"Man, can you believe those people...?" I look up at Jun-chan, "So, did you hear the details...?"

I groan a bit, not him too.

"I'm not interested."

"Stop acting like you don't care." I giggle at my friend's face, wrinkled with disappointment in brother's unconcerned tone. "You really should hear this..."

"About what?" I ask, tinged with a bit of curiosity.

"Well, a girl from 2-E went missing last night. This morning, they found her lying on the ground in front of the school gate!"

I gasp loudly, but hush down when people begin to stare and focus back onto Jun-chan's words.

"Nobody knows what happened, and supposedly, she's still unconscious."

"...That's terrible..." I mutter under my breath, _"Isn't Fuuka-san in that class...? I hope it's nothing serious..."_

"Morning."

"Yo, Yuka-tan." I perk up, following Jun-chan's eyes. "This is a tough case, even for Junpei Iori, Ace Detective."

"Ace Detective?" I snort when Yukari's eyes stare hard at Jun-chan, it was hilarious. "...Are you stupid or something?"

She pauses, and smirks at us.

"More like Stupei, Ace Defective."

"Hey! I resent that!"

Laughter bubbles out of me, and I could see brother try holding in his own laugh.

x

5/31

"ACHOO!"

"Whoa! Ko-tan you've been sneezing a lot lately, ya sure it's not a cold?"

"Mm, maybe..." I sniff, feeling my nose stuff. "But don't tell Ni-chan...! I don't need him to baby me even more!"

I hear the other snort, "Yeah, but you both could use some time together. You've been spending less time with Minato lately, you know he looks pretty down about it."

I choke and cough painfully, my eyes watered a bit.

"Very funny..." I look at him with disbelief, "But, did Ni-chan really look down enough for you to notice...? No offence, Jun-chan but Ni-chan's not exactly an open book."

"He is when it comes to you man!" I hold back a laugh to that, it was true now that I thought about it.

"Hmm, maybe I should give him something then...?" I tilt my head in thoguht, "Oh! Maybe some cookies or chocolate?"

I see Jun-chan give me a sneer, my shoulders tense and my voice cracks at him. "W-what!?"

"You guys are seriously like couple, man."

"E-Eh!?" I feel my ears tinge, "W-we're twins you know! B-brother and sister! Gosh, Jun-chan! I only see Ni-chan as Ni-chan!"

He makes a low laugh that was laced with pity."Man, Ko-tan I feel like you're going to be the heart breaker of many poor dudes."

"W-What's that suppose to mean, you jerk!" I kick him lightly in the shin.

x

6/1

"Ugh, I swear you guys are always eating nothing but bread and snacks..." I huff looking at the two in front of me with wrappers piled up on their desks and their mouths stuffed with bread. They stare at me innocently while chewing casually, like there was nothing wrong with what they were doing.

Brother was stuffing in another sweet melon bread, he had such a sweet tooth.

"...You say I'll get fat," I groan, seeing him chuckle. "I give up!"

I catch the attention of Yukari to when I let out a loud sigh and throw my arms in the air.

"I'll go out shopping for ingredients, so!" I cross my arms over my chest, "I'll make you both boxed lunches alright!"

I hold back a giggle when I see brother's eye perk up at me. He quickly stuffed his face with another piece of bread, trying to hide the delight I already saw.

"Ko-tan you cook?"

"Well duh-! What you think I just like eating take out?" I laugh looking at the two with a smile, "Anyway, would you like to make any request-"

"Sweet eggs."

"Yes, yes," I let out the giggle finally, "I know you love sweets, heehee."

_"And whatever I give you in general..."_ I snort at the thought.

x

The world around was suffocated with heavy shadows, making me shudder and stiffen with fear. My nose crinkled and flared from the stench of revolting blood, a deathly slow drip echoed through the darkness.

_"No... It can't be..."_

I make a sharp breath, as a figure comes closer to me. My eyes tremble with me, its shape was ragged and looked like it was rotting with a frayed black cloak that seemed to melt with the deep black around us. The stench became stronger as the figure came closer, its white skull mask was being lightened up by a terrifying red.

To my horror, my vision goes upward. Seeing a red eye that glared down, wanting to smother the land with nothing but death.

The dripping gets louder.

"_**...Wake...**_" my heart begins to race, "**_...You..._**"

My eyes move again, forcing me to look at the black ghoul that haunted me.

But that wasn't what I was afraid of seeing.

It was what was underneath that now was crystal clear, that was shining a bright ruby-red.

Just like my eyes.

The dripping gets even louder.

Lying in a a pool of blood were two corpse, a girl and a boy.

It was me and brother.

"_**...ThE... cOMINg...**_" its voice is strangling me, I felt like knives were stabbing into my chest.

I scream.

Dark Hour

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO!" I sob out bitterly darting up, but snap out of it when I felt my hand hit something down. I breath heavily, trying to calm my racing heart down and wiping the tears that poured out of my eyes.

"You're finally awake."

My eyes refocus, tears finally stop. Though they hurt I glance over to the voice.

"Aah...!" it was that child with blue eyes again, he was getting back up on his feet.

"This is the first time we've spoken outside of-"

I quickly roll up to my knees and cup his cheek and shoulder.

"A-Are you alright!? Does it hurt anywhere!?" my eyes scan him carefully, my eyes pause to his right cheek that was tinged a little red. "O-oh my... I'm so sorry...!"

"...It's alright." he seems to hesitate on his words, making me feel even worse.

"A-are you sure-" he cuts me off with a laugh.

"You're so strange... But I don't hate that." his smile falls and his lips curve down into a frown, "But asides from that, why are you here? You shouldn't be here, it isn't time..."

_"Huh? What does he mean by that...?"_

"Look around you..." my eyes do as told, looking around. I gasp, and my hands move to cover my mouth.

Even though the halls around were no longer green, the ominous feeling still lurked around; along with the smell of blood, filling the air. I was in the Tartarus.

"We don't have much time to talk..." I look back to the small child, his eyes look like they're crying but there aren't any tears. "You must hurry, find her..."

"Who?"

"And," he smiles sadly before his body starts fading, "Don't worry, you'll be fine... Just keep going, okay?"

"W-wait...!" the boy disappears completely, leaving me alone. "W-what's going on... I don't remember it turning into the dark hour...!"

My hands fall to the ground, and brush against something that rustles. I jump and quickly look to what it was, my school bag and a plastic bag full of groceries.

"Onii-chan..." I felt like crying, but the rustling voices in my heart told me I can't stay here.

I stand up on my wobbly legs, grabbing the bags and quietly jog through the purple halls decorated with blood and fear.

x

I hold my breath, trying to hide from the shadow that spotted me. _"I was only a few step away from the stairs too... Please, please move..."_

I was beginning to feel myself tire and my body felt like it was burning. Who knew running from monsters could take so much out of you. Though I started to feel like this was more than just feeling a little winded, as my vision spun briefly.

"_-Who is this...? Are you human?-_"

I tense up, a voice rang inside my head. Making rattle a bit, I clench my bags and decide to quickly run through.

_"Was that the person he talked about...?"_ I hoped so, as I didn't want to keep going to find a monster.

That was a terrible thought to put in my head.

"Haa..." I finally get to another floor, I use this as a chance to gasp for air and rest a little. "Ni-chan..."

"Ah..." I jump hearing someone's voice, my eyes dart over to the corner of the hall. Seeing a petite girl with short teal, large brown eyes and pale skin. She was wearing my uniform.

"H-hello...?" I timidly call out, still feeling breathless. "U-um, please it's okay... I'm not..."

My legs give out, making me sway forward and my vision blurs out.


	15. Complication

Ehehe, this is quite fun.

Though I can't say the same for when I end up cutting or editing but anyways please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 15: Complication**

6/1

_"Weird she's not texting back..."_ I frown, staring blankly at my phone's screen. It was past eleven, yet Minako wasn't home still. _"I shouldn't worry too much... I'm sure she just ran into a friend."_

I hoped that was the case.

"H-hey!" I refocus back into the conversation, "C'mon... Nobody believes that stuff!?"

If I was remembering correctly, they were talking about a ghost story or was it the internet? Though judging by Yukari's uncomfortable tone, it was probably the former of the two.

"So," I jump a little, my eyes glance over to my other side. Seeing Kirijo and Sanada sitting there, I silently question when they got here. "What is this ghost story about?"

I cringe a little, when Yukari practically yells in my ear. I rub my ear, trying to muffle out the ringing of her voice.

"It-It's probably made-up... so why bother!?"

Though I felt a little guilty, it was a little funny seeing how worked up she was getting. _"...Now that I think about, she's really easy to scare..."_

"I'm interested. Go ahead and tell us." I'm a little surprised by Sanada's comment, who knew he enjoyed rumors and ghost stories? I take it back when I see a familiar gleam in his eyes, something that was there when it was about fighting or something like shadows.

_"Are they thinking it was a shadow...?"_ I wasn't really interested about what happened, so I didn't know anything other than what Junpei told me and Minako a while back.

My eyes roll over to Junpei, and I choke back a laugh. The lights were switched off and he held a flashlight he got somewhere under his chin. Making that typically feel you get when you tell ghost stories. His body was leaned forward towards us and starting speaking in his mysterious tone.

"Good evening." he smiled eerily with the light flashing underneath him, "Welcome to 'Junpei's believe, or don't."

It was getting harder to not laugh at his antics.

"...There are many strange things in this world." he narrows his eyes at us, and lets his voice roar at Yukari to give her another scare. "According to one story... if you get caught at school late at night, you'll be devoured by a manically ghost that roams the halls!"

I twitch, something about this made my chest stir uncomfortably.

"The other day, this friend of mine-let's call him Shu..." the other keeps going, "He said to me, 'Junpei, I saw something strange.' He sounded serious, so I asked him what he'd seen."

My body tenses, screaming that something's wrong.

"He said it was about the girl in 2-E... He claims he saw her go into the school on the night of the incident." he makes a false gasp of shock, "I couldn't believe it. She's not that kind of girl to be out at night..."

Something felt very wrong.

"But Shu was as white as a sheet, he insisted it was true... Then it hit me." the other leans even closer, "That ghost must've tried to make her its dinner!"

It clicked.

"And that's why they found her lying on the ground by the gate! I felt a chill down my spine, and I broke into a cold sweat... Yes, there are strange things in this world. Believe it... Or don't."

He flickers the lights back on, and grins at us. My hands felt cold and my body was frozen.

"What do you think, Akihiko?" Kirijo speaks up, slightly taking me out of my dazed state.

"I think it's worth investigating." Sanada smirks, much to my dismay.

_"So it is about shadows..."_

"Wow, I didn't know you guys were afraid of ghosts," I gaze up to Junpei, he's grinning at both me and Yukari, "That's kinda funny."

"Hey, watch it!" the said other growls at him, "F-Fine, then let's investigate. We'll each ask around for the rest of the week. I'll prove to you that this ghost story is just an urban legend!"

I sigh, didn't they remotely notice.

"I appreciate that. The story is a little unnerving." I felt almost like choking, when I see Kirijo openly tease Yukari.

"Huh...?"

"Then, I'll let you guys handle it." again, I was surprised by the other senior siding with Kirijo and adding a playful chuckle to his words. "Just make sure you sleep with one eye open..."

"Whaaaat...?" I felt a little more eased, letting a chuckle out my lips when I see how dumbfounded Yukari was.

_"But... What's this unnerving feeling I have...?"_ I flip back open my phone, and frown.

She still hasn't answered.

x

Dark Hour

"Good evening."

I jump, looking up from my phone's screen. Snapped out of my trance, in front of me what that weird kid who wore striped pajamas and always had a creepy smile.

Though not this time.

His lips were curved up into a smile, but his eyes weren't. They looked troubled and worried.

"I came to see you again, as I promised. How are you?"

"It's you..." his smile seems to widen at me, but his eyes are still hiding something.

"I'm glad you remembered me." his lips fall a bit, "Now, in another week... The moon will be full again, and the next ordeal will be upon you... So be careful."

He seems to hesitate, thinking of whether he should speak up or not.

"...Do you know where my sister is." my eyes harden, I've been up waiting patiently for Minako this entire time. Yet she still wasn't home, despite it being midnight.

His fluttering steps make it obvious, he knew.

My voice is stern, "Where-"

"She lies where the next ordeal waits, so hurry and solve this riddle... I'll come again."

"WAIT!" I try to reach and grab him, but he vanishes before my fingers could even graze his shirt.

I curse.

o

*"*"*

"_Hey look, Fuuka got second for once._" I shift, my body felt foreign to me. My view goes toward a tanned girl with long orange-blonde hair and had a small short pigtail that stood up on top. "_Hey Fuuka, how does it feel to be second in our grade for once?_"

The girl's face scared me, I felt the body I was in fidget nervously.

"_Don't you like someone in cram school?_" her smile leers at whoever she was looking at, "_I wonder what they'll say if they see you in 'second'?_"

She laughs taking out her cellphone and pointing it to a board.

_"Huh...? Isn't that the exam scores... And wait Fuuka!?"_

I see hands reach out desperately to girl, I felt like they were saying something. But I couldn't hear it as it was muffled by the sounds of laughter, that was mocking and terrifying. The next thing I see is hands banging on doors, begging for them to open.

The laughter continued, I wanted them to stop.

It hurt to see this.

Please, stop.

STOP!

o

I gasp for air, opening my eyes through hot new tears.

"Aah!" someone else gasps with me, "A-are you alright...?"

I blink, letting tears roll out of my eyes. I felt like vomiting and my head was spinning, I felt a cool hand brush against my forehead.

It felt soothing.

"Onii-chan...?"

"U-um, I'm sorry..." my vision gets clearer and I can make out the other's face. It was that girl I saw just moments ago, before I...

I shoot up from her lap, spinning to her. "T-that's right! W-we need to keep moving or else the shadows-they'll..."

Pain jolts through my head, and I clutch it.

"P-please you shouldn't move, you're burning up..."

_"Burning...? I guess all that running gave that cold a bit of a push..."_

"U-um, thanks... I'm alright," I sit down a little more lax, "I'm Minako... Minako Arisato, class 2-F... And you are?"

The teal-headed girl, I assumed was in another class. She looked really young, and if I had the energy I would pull her into a hug. She looked more tired than I was.

"Aah, I'm Fuuka Yamagishi..." she tries to smile, "C-class 2-E..."

"Fuuka...san...?" my eyes blink at her, "H-how did you end up here...?"

She jumped at my words, making me worry a little. I think back to the dream I had, _"...It couldn't be..."_

"Were you... Bullied...?"

Her silence answers me, and I muster up strength to lean over giving her a loose hug.

"It'll be okay, alright..." my hands feel heavy like I was carrying lead weights with them, but I gentle pet the other back. I take a deep breath and smile, looking at her in the face. "Ni-chan and our friends will be sure to come save us, and I'll protect you alright?"

x

*"*"*

6/6

"Check out those rags... They're from Gekkou High."

I snarl at group that glared at us, being in a terrible mood since I found out Minako went missing.

With no clues or leads, I had no other choice but to rely on that 'hint' I was given by that brat. Forcing myself to investigate the incident of three girls collapsing, though I was pretty positive it was caused by shadows.

Not that I could convince Yukari, with how determined she was to get all the gossip and lay this ghost story down for good.

_"I'll make sure to punch him..."_

I scanned around the back alley of Tatsumi Port, hoping that we would actually get something useful out of this little 'adventure' Yukari called it. Honestly I was too tired and angry to really care about the danger, though Junpei seemed to do just fine. Worrying and being nervous for all three of us.

"Oh man, this is worse than I thought..." I hear Junpei mutter under his breath, annoying.

"Hey, you." one of the punks walk up to us, he's scoffing with glaring eyes. "I think you're in the wrong place."

"Uh... Well, I..." he stammers on his words.

_"So he can act tough with monsters but not people..."_ my eyes hurt a little, they're sore from restless nights and worry.

Along with the amount of pure rage that boiled.

"You don't belong here... Get it?" the punk glares harder, "Beat it, Goatee..."

"G-Goatee?" I see Junpei taking a step back, "Oh, y-you mean me..."

"We don't need your permission to be here." I felt a dark chuckle try bubbling up, seeing Yukari's new-found courage. Staring up at the punk with her own scowling expression. Junpei gasps and tries to nudge her to hush down.

"H-hey! Are you nuts!? Take a look around you!"

"I'm not blind you know." she sighs, but makes a glare to the group of people standing around in the alley. "Come on, don't be intimidated by these scum!"

"What was that?" the previous punk gapes at her, with an angry glare now.

"She just called us 'scum.' " another girl speaks up, with anger as well but laughs with a mocking tone. "We'll post some pictures that will make her daddy cry!"

The laughter in me started to boil, how irritating.

"She'll wish she was never born!"

The girls in the group all laugh, smirking as if it was a clever idea.

"These guys are the worst..." Yukari fumes, probably provoked by the mention of her father.

"You oughta learn to shut that trap of yours." the other scorns but makes a wide mocking grin, "Man, I feel sorry for you Goatee. This bitch is a pain in the ass... huh!"

He walks over to Junpei, putting on a facade of pity but I see his arm flex. He was ready to punch him in the stomach.

I move quicker than the scum as Yukari put it.

Punching him in the face and making him topple backwards a few steps. Catching everyone's eyes making them look to me, a little shocked. Even Yukari and Junpei were looking at me.

I let myself fall for a bit, back into the past. Feeling that numbing rush in my veins, my entire body feels dead and limp but I couldn't feel any better. My lips curve into a cold deathly smile, and my eyes stare hard at the man in front of me.

I needed a good stress relief and a fight, was just the perfect thing for it too. Which I was more than happy enough to accept.

"If you're looking for a fight," I crack my knuckles and glare coldly at the group, "I'll be more than _happy_ to give you one."

"M-Minato," I blankly stare at Junpei, "Come one man, let's just g-go. Yuka-tan help me out here."

A fist connects to my cheek, making fall back a bit. I don't wince from the stinging pain and glare at the one who threw the punch. It was the one I hit in the face.

"You piece of shit..."

"Haha," I chuckle darkly with a smirk, "If you hate shit, then how about I break that nose of yours?"

I wanted to punch him hard in the face, square on his nose. Enough to break it and see it gush out red blood. _"The color of her eyes."_

But a hand stops me, grabbing my wrist. "That's enough."

I try to pry my hand away, but the grip was strong and firm. I snarl and glare at its owner.

I freeze in spot.

"They didn't know what they were getting into. I'll make sure they leave."

It was him.

That guy who we say during Sanada's checkup, and the same one who my sister wept and was terrified of. I struggle more, trying to pry away my arm free. Almost desperate enough to dislocate my wrist in the process.

A jolt of movement, brings me back and even snaps part of my hard glare as my entire body gets swing with ease. My face gets muffled by something red, and a loud thud sound rings in my ears.

My nose was buried into a red coat and I could smell faint scents of food off it.

"...Ugh... S-screw this..." I hear the other male stutter, and laughter of the girls follow it. Mocking him and calling the other a loser.

"Damn you, Shinjiro..." another voice shouts out, cursing.

_"Shinjiro...?"_

"That's right... You're from Gekkou high too, aren't ya!?"

"You better grow eyes in the back of your head!" I sigh, what a pathetic group. They really are scum, though for me it was different reasons compared to Yukari's.

Footsteps quickly pace out, all moving in different speeds but growing faint quickly.

I take this time and push myself off with all my strength, with no avail.

"Let go." I snarl out, extremely annoyed.

He finally lets go, allowing me to have room to breath. My eyes harden at him, giving him a vicious glare.

"Oh man, senpai that was awesome!"

"Hey, I remember you..." his face seems to glow with something, but I'm not entirely sure what. "You clowns were in Aki's room at the hospital."

His face scowls at us. "You idiots! Get outta here, this place isn't for you!"

I blink, taken by surprised by his outburst. I was expecting him to be someone, like Sanada, some kind of muscle head but he wasn't. Instead he seemed to be a bit, colder than the other but at the same he would probably be someone that Minako would cling to like a puppy.

I frown, thinking back to Minako. _"I need to cool down my head, ugh, what was I doing."_

"Wait!" I call out to him, before he walks away. Making him glance back at us with his steel-eyes, "We're looking for information."

"Did Aki tell you to come here?" he stares blankly at us.

"Yeah, sorta..." Yukari seems to shift in place, she wasn't telling the exact truth but wasn't lying either.

"Stupid move..." the other, Shinjiro looked annoyed. "What do you wanna know? About that ghost story?"

"Um, yeah... How'd you know?"

"Yukari," I huff a bit, feeling tired. "It's a rumor, what do you expect."

"...Those girls who wound up in the hospital were here talkin' shit every night." my eyes look back to the taller senior, "About all the things they'd done to some girl named Fuuka."

"Yamagishi!? You mean Fuuka Yamagishi!?" my own voice surprises even me, I didn't think I had that much energy left. "We need to get Kirijo, if they were bullying her... Then..."

I bite on my lips in hard frustration, remembering the far distant memories of my childhood.

"It's possible that they might have something to due with her frequent illness..."

"H-huh? M-minato, what are you talking about? Why would you know that?"

"Cause," I growl, "Minako was trying to meet her since Junpei mention her two weeks ago, she's been sick every time she tried."

A surprised grunt catches my ear, "You guys don't know?"

My eyes stare at the other, waiting for him to continue.

"This Fuuka girl might be dead, she hasn't been home in over a week."

"Are you serious!?" Junpei's face is pale as a sheet, "I thought she was out sick... But she's missing!?"

"So much for a ghost story..." I stare at Yukari, "Mr. Ekoda is the homeroom teacher for 2-E right? Does he know about this...?"

"We'll find out." I snap, "But we need to talk to Kirijo about this..."

My eyes glance at taller senior, hesitant on my words. "...Thanks."

x

*"*"*

"They did WHAT!?" I quickly move my fingers to shut my lips closed, both me and Fuuka had been avoiding the lurking shadows and I found Fuuka was a persona-user. She was able to sense shadows with ease even though she didn't have a evoker, I couldn't imagine how much power she would have if she could summon hers.

It made me smile inside, to know her persona was protecting her. When no one else would, but now things were different. I was going to protect the other girl too, along side her persona and mine.

"U-um, Minako-chan it's fine... Really..." I squirm a bit, Fuuka was honestly too cute for words.

Petite with a slim and pale figure and she had such an adorable face, I remember Jun-chan talking about how she looked weak and it only made him want to protect. I second his opinion, though she didn't look weak, just a little frail and extremely cute.

I pat my chest with confidence, "Don't worry Fuu-chi, I'm not going to let them or these shadows hurt you ever alright!"

I pause a bit, something about this felt... Familiar. I shake my head, it wasn't possible. My memories would never come back, that's what I've been told for years.

"Ah, but... Minako-chan..."

I pout at her, "Ko-chan!"

Her face flusters, she was adorable. "K-Ko-chan, please don't push yourself... If everything you said is true then you should be extra careful, you still have a light fever."

I flash her a wide grin, "No need to worry, I have my friends helping me out right now."

She looks around, confused. "Oh, sorry Fuu-chan let me tell you about personas too."

"P-Personas?"

"Mm," I nod, "Personas are, kinda like the other you but they're not you at the same time... Kinda confusing I know." I giggle softly when her face makes a perplexed expression. "But basically they're our friends, good people who will protect us. Just like how your persona is protecting you."

"M-mine?" she takes in a sharp breath, surprised, "I-I have someone protecting me too...?"

"H-hey don't forget I'm here now too!" I laugh with a warm smile, "But yeah, it has to be your persona that's been guiding you through the Tartarus. I'm sure she's been looking after you all this time, cause our personas are always in our hearts. Even if you can't feel or see them all the time."

I smile, closing my eyes contently and place my hand over my heart, feeling its light pulsing.

"They're always watching over us, kinda like a second parent or a loving sibling. Only they're actually part of us too." I open my eyes, gazing at her softly. "When the time comes, I'm positive your persona will come to your calling. You just need to open your heart and listen."

My face flusters a bit when I see the other stare in wonder at me. "Aha, I'm sorry that must've sounded a little weird, huh?"

To my relief, she shakes her head. "I think... I get it, so I have a power that can protect too..."

Her warm smile made the voices in my head hum in delight, Fuuka was a great girl.

_"I can't believe they locked her up though..."_ I frown, _"If they dared to even do that again... I'll-"_

"K-Ko-chan...! We need to move," Fuuka shakes my shoulders, trying to lift me up my feet but lacked to strength to. "There's something here... It's powerful, we need go higher...!"

When her words left her lips, the loud clatter of shackles echoed through the halls. The voices started to stir, telling me to listen and quickly move.

"R-right, let's go..." I grab the two bags I had been lugging around, my school bag was completely ruined. Soaked in blood after I had thrown it a few times to distract shadows in order to sneak up on them. While the bag of food was a little lighter, after I had given Fuuka some snacks and drinks that were safe to eat in the dark hour.

We quietly moved through the bloody halls, the smell wasn't so bad. As my stuffed nose was making it difficult to smell at all, something I was a little grateful for.

The shackles rattled louder, coming closer.

"Fuu-chan," I whisper lowly, "I see the stairs over there...!"

"W-wait!" her hand grips hard on mine, "I can... Sense there are monsters-Shadows there... And whatever is coming closer is coming from that direction too..."

Fear made my knees wobble, but I promised.

Promised to protect her.

_"I'm not Ni-chan... But..."_ I inhale as much courage as I can, and look to Fuuka with determined eyes. "I'll distract them, so you run ahead, alright?"

"B-but-!"

I smile brightly, "It'll be okay, I promise. I'll catch up in no time," I hold up an arm in a flexed motioned and wink at her with a cheery manner, "I might not look like much, but I'm pretty strong!"

That was a lie, I was weak and a coward.

"And I am Ni-chan's twin! He's a great leader!" I grin.

No I wasn't, I was nothing like him.

"So trust me, and hold onto these." I give her my bags, "As a good luck charm, just chuck my bag as hard as you can at any mean shadows that would try hurting you!"

She looked at me for a moment, before nodding and grabbing my bags. Tightly gripping them, "Y-You promise to catch up, right?"

"Would I ever lie?"

Yes, I would. I am right now.

"Now, run when I lead them out, alright?" I don't wait for her answer, quickly running over to the stairs. Catching the attention of a large blob of shadows.

I whistle and holler at them, taunting them to follow me. I look over my shoulder, seeing Fuuka running as fast as she could to the stairs.

I smile. _"Good girl."_

Two large shots fired in the air, making me freeze in place, terror was biting at me from all angles. Something heavy and dangerous was coming close, even the goop of shadows seemed scared, quickly crawling away past me.

The clatter of shackles makes my spine shiver, my eyes slowly look to the direction of the rattling. Behind me.

It was covered in blood, and two chains were crossed over its chest. It had no legs, only a black overcoat that flapped as it hovered in the air, looming over with its bloody white head that had some kind of eye and raw flesh that was showing under the peeled part where its forehead was. In its hands it was holding two long barreled revolvers, both were smoking.

It hovered in the way back to the stairs, blocking them out of my way.

Its presence was suffocating.

It kept staring at me, looming at me and waiting for me to move. My body screamed at me not to move, even the many personas in my heart stilled. All holding their breaths and voices in fear.

Yet...

I ran, trying to brush past it to get to the stairs desperately.

It easily stopped me, swinging the side of one of its guns straight into me. Making my fly back from the force, and crashing down to the floor.

This thing, this shadow was too strong.

It could easily snap my neck or fire a bullet in my heart, killing me instantly. My breathing was muffling in my ears and my chest was tightening with each second.

The shadow, this reaper kept staring at me. Not moving at all, other than the flapping of its blood-stained coat.

My heart was pulsing like crazy in fear.

It finally moved, but instead of shooting and killing me. It started to sink into the ground, slowly vanishing. I clutch at my chest, both relieved and terrified, I force my legs to move again.

"I need... To get to Fuu-chi..." my head was dizzy again, the stricken terror stuck to me like glue, I felt a few tears drop, "...Onii-chan, hurry..."


	16. Third Moon

It actually took a lot longer than I thought to get here, but it was quite fun to write about. (Quick note I might take a little break to make some sort of cover for this, also catch up a bit on sleep, aha.)

Please enjoy! Happy to see your reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 16: Third Moon**

6/8

"Hold on, Mitsuru..." a pang of angry boiled in me, seeing Mr. Edoka. I hated him before, but now I just loath him. "This isn't a interrogation. Natsuki, you don't have to say anything you don't want to."

I felt my patience growing thinner with each sentence, I was ready to burst again.

"You wouldn't want to give her the wrong idea."

"The wrong IDEA!?" I slam my palms hard on the desk in front of me, enough to make them sting. "There are TWO, students that are missing right now. Do you really think repercussions and fucking records are important right now!?"

"Arisato calm down." I hiss at Kirijo, making her flinch at my anger..

"Calm DOWN!? Do you know just HOW long I've been _CALM_, I would like to be clear that one of those students happen to be my _last_ blood-relative."

Everyone in the room stares and gawks at me.

"You," I glare to the tanned student, "Let me just say right now, you'll be having it a _lot_ worse if you don't spit out the truth."

"You! Where are your manners, I'll have you expelled...!"

I smile coldly at the teacher, with pure disgust.

"I'll say this one more time, _my sister_ is _missing_." I grit my teeth at him, "Along with one of _your_ students, do you really REALLY THINK I GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THAT!?"_  
_

Everyone in the room stays quiet as I huff, clenching my fists hard enough for my knuckles to turn white. My eyes are focused on that Natsuki girl, she fumbles with her hands and looks to the ground, ashamed and guilty.

"Fuuka... She always looked so frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time..." she starts to confess, her eyes never leaving the ground, "Then, I realized... She's an honor student, but deep inside, she's just the same as us."

_"No shit Sherlock."_ I tap my feet, trying to weigh out my patience a little longer.

"I knew exactly which buttons to push..." her face faces into terror, "We were just messin' with her that day, too!"

She takes a deep breath, before continuing.

"May twenty-ninth, we took Fuuka to the gym... and the locked the door from the outside..."

"What!? You locked her in!?" Junpei jumps, completely shocked.

_"...Bullying is always the same isn't it.__"_ my eyes are cold and my mouth tasted bitter, remembering times before when I suffered being weak as a child. Like this Yamagishi, I was once locked up somewhere too but the only difference was...

_"I had Onee-chan, protecting me..."_

I shake my memories away, it wasn't time for that. It was my turn to protect her, while she was still scarred and hurt by that accident. While she was vulnerable and defenseless.

"That night, Maki returned to school alone. She was afraid we'd get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide." her face twists with tears, "But, she never came back and the next morning..."

"She was found lying on the ground by the gate." Yukari finishes the other girl's sentence, as her tears became choked sniffles.

"I went to the gym to let Fuuka out, but the door was still locked... So I opened it and went inside, but she wasn't there..." she sobs and tries to keep her tears down, "We all freaked out, starting that night we went out looking for her."

"But every night, another one of us went missing... and they ended up just like Maki!" her eyes slowly look to me, "A-and, one night... I saw your sister go in the school too, and... And then..."

Her tears overflow and her sobs become louder, "I-I got scared when she saw me, and knocked her down the stair by mistake...! But the next day, s-she was gone too!"

I tense, _"Please, please don't be hurt... Minako..."_

If I was theorizing right, when the dark hour came the Tartarus took them up with it but it never brought them back. The only problem was...

_"It's been ten days for Yamagishi and seven for Minako... Please... Please don't be too late...!"_

I breath, taking everything slowly. "Thank you, for telling us the truth." my eye glare at the 'adult' of the room, "Unlike someone else who was hiding it, I'm _sure_ Kirijo would _love_ to hear your reasoning for marking a missing student as sick..."

"Yes, what was your intention?" the cold icy tone of Kirijo's voice was music to my ears, I watch with a sadistic smile on my lips as the teacher panics.

"I was thinking of the students, of course." he makes a disgusting smile, as if he was actually caring. "You children may not understand, but we have to consider the future of everyone affected."

"You mean, you chose not to report this to the police for the 'good of the class.' "

"It-It was in her best interest. I wouldn't want her records to be stained by something like this, her parents agree!"

_"More like saving your own ass, and I'm sure you fucking talked to her parents."_ I was tempted to punch him right then, but it looked like Kirijo was doing more than enough to give him the terror of his life. With the way she glared down icy daggers at his throat.

"So to protect your career, you ignored your responsibility as a teacher..." the smile on Kirijo's red lips was gorgeous, along with her icy scorn that glared hard at the teacher. "How despicable...!"

Mr. Edoka gasps, completely defeated and unable to defend himself any longer under the icy red eyes of Kirijo.

"Just shut up." I snarl at him, "We don't have time for this, Kirijo please continue."

She gives me an approving nod and turns to face one of the bullies, "About your friends... Did you notice anything unusual before the incidents...? Anything at all."

"They all heard a voice... A creepy voice." the girl weeps out another cry, "Right before each of them went missing. They said it was calling their name."

_"Bingo, that settles it."_

"Senpai, could it be...!?" Yukari leans over to Kirijo talking with a hushed voice.

"It's them... No doubt about it." the senior's face is serious, "Until now, there was no way of knowing how or why some people are conscious during the dark hour."

"But, it's the voice, it draws them in. It's not a random phenomenon." she frowns, concern was written all over her face. "This whole thing has made me realize, they're clearly targeting humans. Shadows are the enemy of mankind."

"Stay at our dorm tonight, it's the safest place." the red-headed girl places her slim hands on the tanned girl's shoulders, "If you hear the voice, tell us immediately and don't leave the room, no matter what. If you can do that much, you should be okay. Don't worry, Yamagishi and Minako should be alright as well."

I felt a little bit relieved to hear that.

"Arisato, Iori and Takeba too, we'll meet after school in the student council room to discuss tonight's operation."

"T-Tonight!?" I sigh, Junpei was honestly a slow idiot sometimes... I take that back he normally is one. Though he had his moments of wit and courage.

"We're going to rescue Yamagishi and Minako." Kirijo looks at me, "If my guess is right, they're still inside the school."

"U-understood!"

x

"Tonight we will infiltrate the campus. Our objective is to rescue Minako and Fuuka Yamagishi."

"Um, I don't get it... Are they inside the school somewhere?"

"And why at night? At midnight, this place turns into-"

"Tartarus, which is where they are." I nibble on my fingers, still holding in my irritation. My sister was so close, yet time was become a nuisance. "If they were still inside the school, and it turned into the dark hour. My guess is that they were taken up into the tower, am I wrong, Kirijo?"

"No, that's right. That's how Yamagishi and Minako wandered into Tartarus."

"Then, ever since Fuuka got locked in the gym, she's been stuck there...?"

"And the same thing happened to Nee-san..."

"But, that was over a week ago! That means..."

"Junpei, shut up." I bite hard on my lips, "It's possible for the flow of time to be different, if the Tartarus appears only during the dark hour... It's possible that only an hour passes for each day for them."

I begged that, that was the case. If I lost Minako, I don't think I could stand it.

"And don't forget that Minako wandered in there too, it's possible they met up and even without an evoker..." my eyes deadpan at Sanada, "She's able to use magic with ease from what I hear from Mitsuru. So it's possible that they're both alive."

"Wow, ya think so!?" Junpei's face brightens, but dims down quickly. "Uh, but the dark hour is pretty brutal..."

"Junpei," I hiss, "One more word and I'll knock a tooth out."

He freezes to my words.

"Nee-san...Though she acts like that now, in the past she was..." I hesitate on my wording, "Someone strong, so if she's not hurt to begin with she should be fine... My question is how are we going to get into the Tartarus, we can't tell what floors they're on..."

"Are you just going to let them die, then!?"

The silver-haired's outburst makes me jump, I growl at him.

There was no way I would let my sister die, I had to protect her.

_"If not for her I..."_

"I have an idea," I perk up to Sanada's words, "Let's try to enter Tartarus exactly how Fuuka did. We'll go to the gym and wait for midnight, that's the quickest way."

"Is that really going to work...?"

"Yukari we don't have much choice, any longer and..." my body trembles at the thought, "W-we could be too late, but this is a chance I'm going to take."

"I won't stand by and do nothing if there's a chance we can save her..." I see the other's black eye's glimmer with something familiar yet glazed with guilt, "...I'd never forgive myself, if you guys don't want to go, then I'll go by myself."

For the first time, I agreed with the other. _"So under that muscle-brain he's big-hearted, huh."_

"I second this," my eyes glance at Kirijo, "Kirijo...?"

I see her sigh for a moment before she answers lowly.

"Alright, we're aware of the risk but we can't just leave them there."

"Cool, we get to sneak in school," I hear Junpei chuckle, "Heheh... In that case, I know just what to do..."

x

"So, you unlocked it earlier... Tres bien!"

"Oui." I snort a bit, feeling a little more a ease and able to laugh at the french comments made by the elders, "No time for compliments. Let's go."

The two seniors quickly move, I rummage through my grey bag, roughly checking its contents: pins, three daggers, medicine, chewing souls, magic gems, and Minako's evoker, stuffed inside carefully. Hanging off my belt was a new sword and my own evoker.

"What's the big deal, anyway...?" Yukari catches my attention, though I'm not too sure what she was talking about.

"Tray ben? What is that, french?" I chuckle at Junpei, "Lousy seniors and their lousy french..."

"It's tres bien, and it mean good job basically in french. Now come on."

The three of us run quietly after the other two who were ahead of us, Kirijo was whispering to us of what we needed to do.

"First, we have to find the key to the gym."

I scoff, "There's no need, it'll waste too much time. Let's just head to gym now."

"D-dude, I didn't take the key or unlock that door man."

"...You play games right?" I smile, feeling a little devious and waving a few pins in my fingers. "Lock-picking is actually pretty easy when you get the hang of it."

I hold back a laugh when I see the shock and bewilderment on their faces.

*"*"*

"K-ko-chan, you're looking really red, we should rest..."

My head's spinning and pounding in my ears, making it hard to hear the other girl's voice.

"I'm... Okay, we're almost there... If we get a a big floor there should be a teleporter... And that'll get us down to the lobby..." I felt breathless as I talked, even the rustling of voices that cooed to me, couldn't drown out the pain. My legs sway a little and my body falls to lean on the walls for support.

"Ko-chan!" I feel cold hands comfort me, as I feel sweat drip and soak my clothes.

"F-Fuu-chi, you shouldn't touch me..." I give her a pathetic chuckle, "I'm all gross and sweaty...Ha...Ha..."

"Ko-chan..." her face is full of worry, but her shoulders jolt up and her head looks around us. "Who is this...? Are you human?"

"F-Fuu-chi... What's wrong?"

"I... I sense something else, there's more than one..." her brow furrow in concentration, "There's... Three of them..."

I let a wide grin creep up my face, and laugh out of relief. "That must be the others... It's going to okay, so let's try to keep avoiding the shadows, u-until they get up here alright?"

She tries to hold me up, as we limp around the floor.

Everything was hurting, but my I could feel the relief wash some of the pain away.

_"Onii-chan's going to save us..."_

x

*"*"*

"Hey, here he is!" I run over to Junpei and Sanada, they seemed to be just fine. "Man, we were worried about you."

"I don't think we should enter Tartarus this way again..."

"Yeah, it was a reckless idea..." I groan, "But it was a lot more dangerous than I thought... Have either of you found Nee-san or Yamagishi...?"

I frown, when they can't answer.

"B-but, hey did you hear a voice while while you were here?" I shake my head, I didn't hear anything like that, he thinks for a bit trying to describe it, "Uh, kinda like-"

"Who is this...?" my body tenses at the sudden voice, "Are you human?"

"Th-That's it! That's the voice!" Junpei looks around, scanning the halls. "Sounded like it came from behind us..."

"Jun-chan, we are..." my entire body turns, when I hear that voice.

"O-Onee-san...!" I rush over to the two girls. The teal-haired girl I assumed was Yamagishi, though she was a lot smaller than Minako she had her slung over her shoulders. My hands cup my sister's face, it was burning.

"H-hi Ni-chan, look it's Fuu-chi...!" she makes a weak smile, leaning into my touch. "Isn't she adorable...?"

"K-Ko-tan! W-whoa dude, you look really sick!"

"...Jun-chan," she scowls but there's barely any energy behind it, "I should call you captain obvious..."

My eyes look over the two, scanning for any injuries. I was surprised when there were nothing but small scratches and specks of dirt, I guess it showed on my face when Minako makes a soft giggle.

"Surprised? Fuu-chi's power is incredible...! She could sense all the shadows, though some of them took us by surprise..." she tries her best to give us a toothy grin, "Her persona even helped me..."

"It's okay now, we're going to get you both out." I hush her, voice out, motioning to the other smaller girl to let me carry Minako. I sling her limp arms over my shoulders and carry her on my back, she was warm, a little too warm but she was alive. I could feel the heavy cold feeling lift up and my body warm with fatigue.

My relief was short lived.

"What is this thing...?" a panicked loud gasp, forces my sense awake. "It's much bigger than the others... and it's attacking someone...!"

An uncomfortable pulse rings in my head, _"T__he ordeal...!"_

"WE NEED TO GET BACK DOWN!" I use my sheathed sword to keep Minako from slipping off me, as I sprint through the floor. "Yamagishi! Did you see a teleporter- a strange pillar here!? If you did show us the way! Hurry!"

x

"What the hell!?" a light pulls us back down to the lobby and waiting for us wasn't just Kirijo and Yukari, two giant misshaped and disproportional shadows were swaying on what were their feet.

One resembled a fat-woman, wearing a disgustingly skimpy bikini-like outfit with a large white collared cape on its shoulders. It had long narrow limbs, making me baffled on how it could even stand; it held a silver staff with a yellow orb in its hand, and above its long neck and tiny head was a white mask with a diamond-shape on top. The other shadow that stood with it was a bulky-man but only the upper park, the legs and waist were dubiously smaller, it was armored, with a large sword in its hand and a pointed-purplish-pink mask on its stubby head.

"Ugh..." Kirijo's fallen on the ground and is injured, Yukari was standing near her. Kneeling down with healing energy spilling out of her hands as Io floats above them.

"Mitsuru!"

"Akihiko-senpai! We gotta distract those shadows somehow!"

"Junpei! Sanada! Get ready!" I clench my teeth, shoving my sister off me with haste to stick with the other girl. "Yamagishi stay here and don't move unless you see them coming to close...!" My hand draws out my blade, as I run forward, far from the group and chuck my sheath towards the shadows.

Drawing their attention.

"Be careful... Normal attacks won't work on these shadows-" the loud clang of the doors interrupts the injured senior, and draws everyone's attention.

Someone entered the lobby, and they weren't one of us.

"F-Fuuka..." I splutter, shocked at the appearance of that girl we had staying in the dorms.

"Moriyama-san!?"

"You idiot!" I scream, "GET OUT!"

The girl looks to be in a dazed state, her steps were unbalanced as she walked towards my sister and Yamagishi. Her words spill out like a robot but were still filled with guilt and regret. "I... I wanted to tell you... I'm sorry..."

Loud roars sound out, and the bulky shadow stomped its feet. Drawing closer to the the dazed girl.

_"Dammit I can't make it in time...!"_

"PROTECT HER!" a loud crack pierced my ears, it sounded awful and painful. Yet, it was dreadfully similar to the sound of glass shattering, to a persona being evoked.

Lightning sparks sending the shadow backwards, a black dog's head that bled on its forehead growled protectively as its long ghostly-white body swirled around Moriyama.

It was Inugami, she summoned a persona.

_"B-but how!? I didn't give her back the evoker...!"_ My eyes shoot towards sis' figure, she's clutching her body in pain. Her lips were crushed under her teeth as she forced back the screams I was sure her throat beckoned for.

"M-MINATO!" my sister's strained voice shocks me, as she's pleading through her pain. "THE GUN...! THROW HER THE GUN!"

That's right, my hands desperately reach for my evoker. Chucking it towards the trio of defenseless girls, "YAMAGISHI USE IT!"

The gun lands short and skids towards the pale girl's feet, her light brown eyes are perplexed and scared.

Minako's voice is weak as she whimpers in pain, "F-Fuuka you have her to protect you, you can protect her!"

"P-protect..." Yamagishi timidly but quickly takes the gun, her determination was overflowing in her gaze. "I need to protect her!"

She holds the gun to her head, firing without second thought.

Calling out her persona.

A woman with long curly-blonde hair, with a blood-colored face and large white wraps covering up with neck and eyes. Her torso is cover with black and pink, and sat on top of a translucent glass-like orb, decor'd with pink-drapes. The orb held both Yamagishi and Moriyama inside, and the persona stood guarding Minako who was now collapsed on the ground.

"_~...I can see...~_" her voice echos, "_~I... I can sense these monsters' weaknesses, somehow...~_"

I let out the breath I held, switching back to the two large shadows with utter loathing.

"Yamagishi! Please," I holler out, my eyes were on the womanly-shadow, "We're depending on you to support us! Yukari focus on healing anyone injured! Anyone who can fight get ready...!"

"Right!" in unison, Junpei and Sanada join me. Quickly moving on their feet to surround the two shadows.

"Sanada, I want you to focus on the one holding the staff!" I bark out orders, as my hands desperately search through my bag for Minako's evoker. "Yamagishi! What are their weaknesses!?"

"_~Their arcanas are the Empress and Emperor! Empress blocks all magic attacks and Emperor blocks all physical!~_"

"You heard her! Magic against the sword and physical at the staff!" I curse when a blade swings down at me, making me drop backwards to the ground. I use my hand as a leverage and spin myself up in the air, jumping away from the emperor's sword.

My eyes glance behind me when I hear a mad growl, Inugami was still out despite Minako lying on the ground. I look to it with a hard gaze, it glared down at me with a deep fury, making me chuckle a little.

"Hey," my voice's delight takes me by surprise, "You're mad too right?"

My lips smirk when I hear a growl, which I took as a yes.

"Then, come on! Go right ahead!" I could feel energy sap away in my already weary body, as it swirled and formed into a spell. "ZIO!"

The persona swims through the air, charging enraged with wrath and sparks flew off from its teeth. Making its maws much more painful as it bites down hard at the emperor's head.

A loud screech makes the sight even more satisfying as Sanada and Junpei finish of the empress with ease.

With another loud crunch, the emperor follows. Melting into that red smoke, disappearing with the now calm Inugami as it howled with glee.

It was over.


	17. Warmth

Alright, I lied. Just one more update then I'll be taking a quick break.  
So please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 17: Warmth  
**

6/11

"Nee-san, are you sure you should be up...?"

I groan loudly, giving Minato a glare and or once, he actually flinches to it.

Weird he never did that before, though it was probably cause he was so tired.

"Anyways!" I clap my hands together, smiling, "Now that I'm finally done with this stupid cold! The first thing I want to first say is, thank you!"

My smile turn into a happy grin at Fuuka, her face was looking a lot better.

"Fuu-chi too, I saw how you protected us and um... Moriyama-san right-that other girl too! So thank you!"

She fidgets under my gaze, really too cute.

"A-ah but," her pale face flushes with red, "I... I didn't do anything..."

I snort, Fuuka was positively adorable beyond words.

"A-and... It's all my fault."

"Are you kidding!?" Yukari was just as confused by her words too, "You were the victim!"

"But, I made so many people worry..." her face drops and her eyes were filled with disappoint and guilt.

Of herself.

"No! You're wrong!" my outburst makes me shrink in the room, my face burned up with embarrassment.

"That's right..." I could breathe I little easier when brother spoke up with me, "Without you, Nee-san-all of us would have been..." his head turns away, and he fiddles with his blue fringe.

"Mm! That's right, you protected us." I let my lips fall to a softer smile, "And that's the truth, you have a special power to protect."

"That's right, we could have lost that fight if you weren't there." my eyes smile when Mit-nee joins in, "You saved our lives. You should feel good about yourself."

"A special power...?" the smaller girl's eyes perk up, but still were worried.

"Remember? Persona," I hopped a little giddy in my seat, "She is there to protect you, and be your strength."

"You could be a tremendous help to us, will you lend us your strength?"

I'm taken by surprised when Mit-nee adds that last bit. _"Fuu-chi's going to join us?"_

"Are you asking me to join you...?"

"That's correct."

"Mitsuru-senpai..." light brown eyes glance to me, I smile and nod. She knew what was right and the best choice, it was herself after all. "I'll do it... I'll help you!"

"A-Are you sure!?" my body jumps at Yukari's shout, "If you join, you'll have to live here..."

My eyes frown, when I see Fuuka's shoulders drop and her face cry out a sad expression.

"That's fine. I'd rather live here than at home anyway..."

_"I'm going to shower her in so much love..."_ I nod to my metal commitment, determination burning when I saw how sad and lonely the other's face was.

"We really appreciate this." Mit-nee smiles, "We'll have the school talk to your parents, to resolve any issues."

"...Wait a minute. Aren't we dragging her into this a bit fast?" My eyes move over to Yukari, she was acting strange. That was troubling.

"Um, it's okay, really..." Fuuka's voice is soft in her reply, "I mean... It'll be nice to have two other girls in my grade around, too..."

"Welcome aboard!" I jump over to my right, leaving brother on the couch, toward Fuuka giving her a warm hug and affectionately rubbing my cheek against hers. Though her body jumps and tenses at my touch, I could hear her giggle softly underneath, making me cuddle her some more fondly.

"Now then," I unwrap my arms off of Fuuka, but sit close to her while everyone looks to Ikutsuki-san. "Those special shadows showed up again, we still don't know where they're coming from-"

"Ugh, just get to the point-actually let me just do it." my eyes dart at brother, what was he thinking being rude to the chairman like that all the time!?

His body is no longer slouched like it usually would, instead his posture was straight and serious. While his eyes were devoid of emotion, like when he was thinking or was remembering something.

"Full moon," he starts, "Nee-san, you remember it was the full moon when the first one showed up right?"

I slowly nod.

"Then the next was?"

"F-full moon...?"

"This one-never mind you didn't see the sky at the time, but it was a full moon for that night too," he slouches again and his eyes glare out with annoyance, "It's safe to assume that if there's anymore of those... _Things_, we'll see them on a full moon."

"Yes," surprisingly Ikutsuki-san seemed a little happy, "We'll take that into consideration from now on."

"So, they're kinda like werewolves then, huh?"

I fall onto Fuuka's lap, crying from laughter.

x

*"*"*

6/12

"Morin'." I yawn loudly, while blankly looking at Yukari with teary eyes. "Hey, Minato... What do you think about Fuuka?"

I blink a bit.

"She's cute...?"

"That's not what I meant," she groans, "Doesn't it seem like... she was kind of forced into joining us? I hope she'll be okay..."

"...If you're worried about that," my eyes narrow through my sleepiness, "You should just talk to her..."

x

"K-Ko-tan are you seriously going to eat that...!?"

"Rude Jun-chan!" she snorts, scoffing at the capped-other "You make it sound like Fuu-chi's cooking's poisonous."

_"...I can't blame him, how do you turn anything into that..."_ I slowly nibbled on a slice of apple, feeling my appetite slowly die out as I scanned over the boxed lunch on Minako's lap. I could smell it even from here, and it made my nose unpleasantly flare and my stomach flip.

"T-To be honest, I don't have very much confidence in my cooking..." Yamagishi's words makes me sweat with worry, "But today, I think it turned out okay..."

The girl's voice was unconfident and I wanted to stop my sister from taking a bite, but she does too quickly, picking a strange-colored goop-like substance out of the box and plopping it into her mouth. Her body flinches, and jaws tighten the moment she closes her mouth. She shuts her eyes in pain, as she slowly chews.

I could her loud crunches with each bite, and she finally swallows it down.

"...H-how is it?"

"D-dude no offence but that sounded terrible..." again, I mentally agreed with Junpei.

"Eheehee," she lets out a wide grin with weak eyes, "Not bad for a first attempt!"

"R-Really?" I think Yamagishi's words spoke for us all.

"Mm," her lips curve to a slender smile, "With a little bit of work and practice, I bet you could even bake a cake like a pro!"

Her chopsticks move to grab another piece.

"N-Nee-san," I panic, "Y-you just recovered-"

"Ni-chan, we don't waste food." she bats her chopsticks at me, "And besides, Fuu-chi's first attempt at cooking! I should be honored to be eating this!"

Her laugh wasn't forced, she was genuine about it.

"Also, this is a lot better than when I started cooking..." she giggles a little embarrassed, "Fuu-chi, you know you should try starting a cooking club... And I have dibs on being the first member!"

The petite girl flusters but gives a quick nod, with a joyous smile on her lips.

I make a short chuckle, watching sis love and dot on Yamagishi like a new sister. Feeling maybe just a little lonely at the sight.

_Thou art I... And I am thou..._  
_Thou hast established a new bond..._  
_Thou shalt be blessed when creating personas of the Priestess Arcana..._

This was getting really old.

x

*"*"*

"Rio-chi!" I smile, "After being sick for a week, I'm back, sorry to drag you down aha... Shall we get to practice?"

Though I hoped nothing happened while I was gone.

"Okay, stop practicing!" I groan when I see the advisor walking towards us, but to my surprise there were the other members behind her too. All walking awkwardly not staring up to where me and Rio were. "I heard you all got into a fight? I can't have this kind of thing going on in my club, you know?"

I was surprised, did she actually care?

"Who started it? Just hurry up and apologize already."

My eyes were tempted to roll at her, losing all hope and shred of respect I would ever have for her. I hold it the urge back, looking more worried for Rio. She was staring at her feet, completely silent.

Not bringing herself to look at Ms. Kanou, with good reason too.

"I don't think anyone in particular started it..." a girl from behind the teacher speaks up for everyone, "But I do think our attitudes did make things worse."

I see the girl with glasses from a few days ago step up, sheepishly towards us. "I feel like I said too much to you, after we forced you to be our club leader and all..."

"U-Um... I also..." Rio's face seems to take a gulp of courage, I silently coax her, knowing she could do it.

"Well, you guys sort this stuff out." I almost feel like brother and snapping at Ms. Kanou with how irresponsible and insensitive she was to the situation. I watch completely stunned as she walks away.

Leaving us all in an awkward silence.

I give my friend a little nudge, "You can do it Rio."

She gives me a weak nod before looking to the rest of the group, "Um... I'm sorry everyone. Things were said that shouldn't have been."

"But more importantly than what happened that day, I feel like I've been forcing my opinions on you all this time..." Rio takes a quiet breath, shaking a little but it doesn't hide the sincerity of her voice. "We're supposed to be a team... Sorry."

Her eyes slowly look over to the direction of Ms. Kanou walked.

"...It's tough being in love."

I smile but before I could say anything the other girls quickly rush over, with squealing voices. All of them were asking for details, and painfully piecing my eardrums.

"Are you serious!?"

"Wait, who's this about!? Is he at this school!?"

"Minako," one of them pulls me into the conversation, "You know who it is, right? Tell us!"

My eyes felt like they were spinning, this conversation was out of my league.

"I-I don't know! Honest!" I hold my hands in front of my, as innocently as possible. Seeing Rio smile warmly with an embarrassed flush on her cheeks.

_"How does Kenji-kun not like her!?-"_ my thoughts get interrupted by a shake of voices.

"You totally know, don't you!"

They continue to bombard me with question after question, making me feel like fighting shadows was a lot less scary.

"I-I'll say it!" my eyes become teary when Rio saves me, her face turns bright red with embarrassment. "Um... It's... K-Kenji..."

"KENJI!?" I let out a squeak when someone shouts at the top of their lungs while running over to us. It was Yuko and lugging behind her was brother, who looked suddenly interested at the sky when he saw how clustered everyone was.

"Y-Yuko!? When did you get here...!?"

"I mean KENJI!? Seriously, no way!"

"How in the world did you end up liking Kenji!?"

I could see brother tense, comically with awkwardness.

"Still, getting him to love you would be pretty simple."

Yuko giggles to that, "I bet all Rio would have to do is push him around a little."

Minato taps his foot lightly, trying to think hard and ignore the conversation. A little hard, seeing how loud we were and how close he was. His face was beginning to fluster from how tense and awkward he was.

"I-It's okay! I'm not pushing anyone! Or saying anything!" Rio's face was just as red, "...I don't want to do anything to hurt the relationship I have with him right now!"

Her face turns somber and looks ready to cry again.

"We're childhood friends, as long as we stay that way... We'll never have to break up." she lets out a sigh, "...I don't have a chance with him anyway, I'd hate to confess it to him and have to stop being his friend..."

My lips curve up, she's so strong.

"Well... If that's how you feel, then it's none of my business to say otherwise..." Yuko makes a gasp, "A-Ah! Minato, I forgot you were there!"

"Y-Yuko-chan!" my feet quickly step between everyone's eyes and brother's paling face, "D-don't worry, Ni-chan won't tell a soul, right?"

He shifts, getting color back in his face. "...J-just pretend I wasn't here..."

x

*"*"*

_"If I didn't have Minako, I think I would have shot myself with a real gun by now..."_ I let out low and uncomfortable groans, being dragging to Wild Duck with the person I least wanted to see: Kenji.

It was honestly annoying to hear his droning of his 'precious' Emiri, but after overhearing that conversation over in the field.

It's awkward as hell.

"Yeah, good-looking people are just attracted to one another," I scowl at his words, "It's like they're meant to be together."

"Uh huh..." I try my best to focus on eating, but it's really hard when the fries are disgustingly soggy.

"What about you Minato? How are you and Yukari-san doing?"

I groan loudly this time, but he seems to not hear it somehow.

"Well, I wish you all the happiness in the world, dude."

I was urged to just slam my face on the table, but I hold it back.

"S-same for you," I quietly flip out my phone, pretending someone had texted me, "S-Shoot...! I gotta go, sorry..."

I shoot up from my seat, grabbing my things and run out like something important came up. Not hearing the other's answer.

x

"Ugh..." I groan, a little tired from running after eating garbage food. "Tastes... Decent, but still garbage..."

_"How does Nee-san even eat so much..."_ I pause for a moment, remembering lunch,_ "...How does her stomach even work...?"_

I slip my earphones on, turning my long-neglected music player on. Relaxing as I scrolled more casually around, listening to music hum loudly in my ears.

_"But seriously, what's the big deal of having a relationship..."_ I close my eyes a bit, _"And I walked with Yukari once to school, and that was with Minako..."_

I felt my lips smile, feeling a little at bliss.

She's become more happy and lately I noticed her old habits were coming back. Even her glare was starting to feel like the old her.

_"Maybe her memory will slowly come back too... Though,"_ my mood wavers a little, _"It has been ten years... Maybe it's best that she doesn't hold onto the past..."_

Like how I was.

I shake my head out of the thoughts, and by mistake bump into someone.

"A-ah," I'm a little dazed, "Sorry."

I get confused when the other grabs me by my collar. Making my eyes open wide from how startled I was. Under my music I couldn't hear what the other was saying, but I could see his expression scowling with anger.

He had three piercings on one ear, had his dirty-blonde hair slicked back and a familiar light bruise was sported on his face.

I move a hand to pull off a headphone, "Do I know you...?"

The other's face seems to heat up with more rage.

"You little...!" his grip raises me off the ground, by my collar.

Annoying me. "I think you have the-"

He cuts me off with a punch, making my jaws pinch in pain.

I growl at him a little peeved, and try to pry his hand off me. To my dismay there's too much of my shirt wrapped in the other's fist, and I really didn't feel like ruining another uniform.

"Think you're all that, you little Gekkou shit!"

"Haa-Oh, _oh_." my mind finally clicks, recognizing the other finally. He was in the alleyway that night, more specifically the one I punched.

My tongue makes a clicking noise, _"How annoying..."_

"What was that, huh!" this time, I clench my teeth, guarding as best as I could at his punch. Using this as my chance to swing my legs and pull my weight down heavily. Trying to get him to sway on his feet while holding a piece of dead weight.

Thankfully to my luck, he does and loosens his grip on my collar, letting me slip out with ease and run.

x

I finally stop running, after reaching near the steps of the Naganaki shrine.

"Tch..." I growl, trying not to spit the taste of iron in my mouth on the ground.

Lightly my fingers mask over my sore jaw, I let out a sigh. I couldn't do anything like this, no matter how much it ticked me off, I would have to let it go. If I let my emotions get ahead of me, I'll just worry Minako.

I let out loud groan, shutting my eyes tightly in thought trying to shake away the feeling of dissatisfaction.

Which I should have figured was a bad idea, as I bump into someone again.

"Ugh!" I jump a little, still wary from before but ease a little after smelling something that was homely and sweet.

It was the scent of food, good food too from what my nose could whiff up. Making my stomach rumble a bit, even after being upset from all the grease I fed it only moments before.

"Aah," I fumble and glance down to the ground at my feet, feeling my face redden, "S-sorry...!"

I felt my face heat up more from that stutter, but my eyes focus on a strange bag full of pills on the ground. My shoulders strain up, hastily crouching down to pick the bag up and shooting back up to my feet. Scrambling with the clear bag and holding it out with both hands to the other.

"S-sorry, I m-made you drop this... Right?" even to myself, I sounded really wimpish and pathetic.

My eyes only dare to look up when I hear a familiar gruff from the other in front of me. Taking me by surprise when I see a red-maroon coat, a black beanie and glaring silver eyes looking back at my blue-silvery ones.

I tense again.

Today was not my day. First I overhear something that I didn't need to know, that being one of Minako's friends having a crush on the person who dragged me to places. That by chance happens to catch me again, just so he could gush about his crush. Then I end running into some guy I punched while begin pissed, and now this.

The one I bumped into just had to be Shinjiro Aragaki, who was still glaring down at me with his steel-eyes. Without any anger to support me, I felt rather small and a little intimidated.

But strangely, this feeling was nostalgic and even a bit warm.

Not that I would ever admit that.

"U-uh..." my voice stammers a bit, trying to get my eyes to freeze up again but it was honestly hard to, with the way he was glaring down at me. I wondered if the other would always be glaring like that, or if he even was glaring at all.

My eyes glance slowly over him, he was a little taller and had a much bigger build than me and under his beanie was long messy strands of brown hair._  
_

"...Watch where you're going, idiot." the taller man scoffs with a click of his mouth, snatching the bag from my hands.

"R-Right...! S-sorry..."

The short chuckle I hear confuses me.

"First you're at my throat and now you're shitting out apologizes one after another, weird brat."

My face flutters when I see the truth to his words. My mouth gapes a bit in pain and embarrassment.

"T-That was only c-cause Nee-san is important..." my teeth nibble on my lips, "Nee-san doesn't like me picking fights-so u-uh I-I'm sorry about the first time we met..."

I let out a low and long sigh, ruffling my hair with frustration.

"Anyway u-um, thank you for the other night..." my eyes are drawn to the bag of drugs in his hand, "You helped us out and even gave us a information... Even though you didn't need to and... Fuck, I'm not good at this."

The response I get startles me, when I feel a large hand pat my head down and ruffle it like I was a child, it was accompanied by another chuckle.

I struggle to swat his hand off, only when he gives me one more ruffle he takes it off.

"Try not to fall asleep on your feet, kid. See you."

My hands are straightening out my blue fringe, but my eyes stare for a little longer to watch the senior walk away. One hand stays on the top of my head, as I scowl a little.

"Who the hell's a kid..."

This irritation, it was again a warm nostalgic feeling. Almost making a smile creep onto my lips, but quickly shake it away and replace the feeling with anger. Anger towards myself, for even thinking that.

_"It's no good to keep thinking of her..."_

x

Dark Hour

"You've prevailed yet again."

My body shoots up from the bed, jostling Minako up as well.

"Do you remember what I said before?"

I glare hard at the child in our room, wanting to punch him for what happened last time but Minako cuts in between us.

"About e-everything coming to an end...?"

"Wha-" my eyes blink at my sister, how many times did this brat come into our room? The striped boy nods his head with a smile, that pissed me off.

"Well, I recalled something else..."

_"Recalled...?"_

"I'm fairly sure that the end is inevitable." he makes a small giggle, "But it's funny, it doesn't seem so certain. Considering the vast potential within the both of you."

_"The hell is he talking about-"_

"As a matter of fact, your powers seem to to have changed quite a bit."

_"...Personas and social links..."_ my eyes stare coldly at him, watching his lips still smile.

"Hey, if you don't mind, can I be your friend?" he tilts his head, mostly looking at sis. "I'm very curious about you... Is that okay?"

I growl out a no, but Minako glares at me over her shoulder with dead red eyes. Instantly making me freeze.

"We're already friends," I could feel the smile in her voice, "But can you tell us your name?"

Strangely the boy blinks, perplexed by her words.

"Name...?" his question makes me gawk for a moment in my blank state, "Oh, I see. I need a name."

Minako's giggling makes my throat shut, not wanting to speak through her laugh but I let a small groan.

"My name is... Pharos." he finally answers after talking a long pause to ponder, "You may call me that if you wish."

That was obviously not his real name, seeing how long he took to answer. But his smile seems to be genuine and he didn't seem to be hiding anything, only something about him, Pharos made my entire body shiver. It was strange, feeling threatened and endangered by a young child that looked no older than ten.

But the feeling was real.

And in the back of my head, I could feel something swell and creak. A card flipped in front of me, making me tense at its picture; a door with a skull. Death, the thirteenth Arcana.

_Thou art I... And I am thou...  
__Thou hast established a new bond...  
__Thou shalt be blessed when creating personas of the Death Arcana..._

My eyes quickly look to Minako, that card had to affect her in some way. It was death of all things, I hoped that it didn't trigger anything but when I glimpsed the side of her face.

She was smiling, brightly looking at the striped boy.

_"Did she not feel that...?"_ I wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or worried.

"We'll see again, right?" her smile was bright, and had no hints of anything wrong. "Goodnight..."

The presence of the striped boy was gone, my eyes didn't even see him go. Almost as if he was a ghost and wasn't there to begin with.

My brows furrow, looking at my sister with worry as she yawns loudly, covering it up with a pale hand.

"Ni-chan... Come on we have school tomorrow, g'night..." her head falls back onto the pillow gently, falling back to a light slumber.

But my heart was strung with worry and a terrorizing dread, there was something wrong with this feeling.

Yet it was overwhelming with warmth.


	18. Cold

I find I want to write more when I really shouldn't, aha...

Also I have no idea who I'm shipping Minato with anymore... It kinda blurred out a while ago... Whoops. (Maybe some of you could help me with suggestions as we go?)

Anyways enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 18: Cold  
**

6/15

"Morin'."

I felt a strange sensation of deja vu wash over me, as Yukari walks towards me at the gates.

"So, I guess it's true that fewer cases of the apathy syndrome occur after each of our missions..." her eyes scowl with worry at me, "But then, that changes again as we get closer to the next full moon."

"Mm..." drowsily I listen, leaving my headphones dangling around my neck.

"...By the way, what do you think of Mitsuru-senpai?"

I hold back a groan of annoyance, feeling like I woke up last month and was reliving the it again.

"Don't you think she sort of pushed Fuuka into joining?"

_"And don't you think Ikutsuki wasn't when it came to me and Nee-san?"_

"I know it's nice to have her around, especially in battle, but..." her eyes start glaring, not towards me but past me as if there was someone behind me. "It just feels wrong..."

"...Ta-Yukari," I huff a little, fumbling for one of my headphones, "Like I said, just talk to Yamagishi. Instead of playing detective and _assuming_ things..."

I hold back the urge to say again, not wanting to crush our odd friendship.

x

*"*"*

"Senpai, this is just the Beef Bowl Shop." I snicker a giggle, the boxer really liked eating here.

"Yeah, but the beef bowls are really good here." he flutters a bit, "The servings are big, and the sauce they use on the meat is just..."

"Akihiko-senpai! Eeeeee!" my body winces at the sudden squeals, we both turn our heads to the sound of tapping feet.

Two girls push me out of the way, running up to Aki-nii.

"Whoa...!" my feet stumble a bit, but thankfully I don't fall. My eyes are darted at the two other girls, "Huh...?"

_"Aren't they in my class...?"_

"Akihiko-senpai, what're you doing here?" one of them with buns in their hair, giggles with a giddy smile.

"Oh, I know!" the other, who wore enough make-up for them both laughed loudly with a smile too. "You're here for the beef bowls, right? It's, like, so funny that you're always eating here!"

"What's so funny about that?" I'm on verge of laughing, over how serious the silver-head's face was.

"It means that you're totally cool."

I snort to that.

"Look, can you get out of the way, please?" I notice Aki-nii's eyes scowl a bit, I couldn't really blame him. "We can't get in."

"Hey, hey, you don't have a girlfriend, right?"

"We're, like, totally looking for guys to be with right now."

I see the two quietly look over to me while they gush over Aki-nii. Tempting me to just groan, I was starting get annoyed about this whole love-relationship thing.

I could see Aki-nii was getting annoyed too, and I decide to step up.

"Aki-nee," I muster up courage from inside, trying to bare through the other two girl's glares with a bright smile, "Let's go and eat!"

Quickly my arms slip into one of his, dragging us both through the two girls. Their glaring made me worry a bit, but I breathe easier after hearing hefty footsteps that walked away once we went inside.

I snicker to Aki-nii a bit when I see how silent he's been.

"Are you surprised?" I finally unhook my arms from his, but my eyes worry a little when he's still dazed. Lightly using my hand, I nudge his arm, "A-Aki-nii...? Are you okay?"

The jolt seemed to work, as his eyes refocused again and looked me a bit startled.

"H-Huh...!? Oh, yeah..."

"Do you..." my lips fall down, "If you don't like me calling you Aki-nii, I can stop if you want..."

"Huh-No...!" the other flusters again, "I... w-was just surprised that's all."

My lips curve into a smile again, and I let out another giggle.

With another echo in my head, that causes a card to float in front of me; a star.

_Thou art I... And I am thou...  
Thou hast established a new bond...  
Thou shalt be blessed when using the Star Arcana..._

I shake away the voice, looking to Aki-nii with bright eyes again. "Then Aki-nii it is! Now come on let's eat!"

x

6/16

"I think I stand out a little... Then again that's an understatement." Saori's words makes my heart stir, like there something to cry deeply about.

"No one talks to me, no one responds to me when I say hello..."

"Sa-chan..." I frown, and my eyes feel like their stinging. Somehow the other smiles at me.

"They're not actually doing anything to me, so it's not like being bullied. It's just..." her smile falters a bit, into something sadder, "Everyone's being really distant to me."

She's so lonely, but she's smiling.

"...Oh, if they see you with me, they might start new rumors..."

"Let them talk." I smile brightly at her, hoping to reassure her that it'll be okay. I wouldn't let anything happen to her, or would... I gasp from the swirl of rage that takes me by surprise and makes my body flinch.

Almost like something was going to burst out of my chest, it was cold and heavy.

Yet dreadfully familiar.

I try to shake the feeling away.

"Um... Love advice," I blink quickly back into reality hearing Saori call out to me again, "What sounds like a realistic problem someone would have?"

"Uh..." I sweat a bit, unsure, " 'I can't get a boyfriend'...?"

"I-I see... So it's stuff like that..." she pauses for a moment, before her smile twists into something dark and scary. "My personal experiences aren't worth shit here."

I choke and cough up tears, in complete shock. "S-Sa-chan!?"

The other gives me a hearty laugh and her smile untwists, "Sorry, I just wanted to try cursing for once. How did I do? Did I say that right?"

Her bright laugh, rubs off me, tickling my lips into a wide grin and laughing brightly.

"Yeah, it was great."

She laughs a bit more, her face looks a lot more refreshed now.

x

*"*"*

6/20

"Koro-chan give me your paw."

"Woof."

"Oooh, he did it! What a smart dog."

"Oh hi."

"Hey, you're-uh Minato? Are you okay...?"

I take a step back, feeling extremely timid and shaken. "Y-yeah... I'm fine..."

"Arf!" I freeze up when I get nuzzled gently.

"Aw! Koro-chan seems to like you," Yamagishi giggles cheerfully and lightly, not noticing how uncomfortable I was. "Oh, this is Koromaru. I've seen him sitting by the steps of the shrine."

I tremble a bit when the white dog starts pulling at my pant leg, my teeth bite down to nibble on my lips and my face warms a bit. _"Too cute..."_

"Oh... This dog still goes on walks all by himself?" I glance with the others to see a lady that walked up to us, looking down at the down.

"Whaddya mean?"

"He used to belong to the priest at the Naganaki Shrine." the woman smiles sadly to the dog, "Every afternoon, the two of them went this way for a walk."

"Used to...?" I finally give in, and kneel down to the white shiba inu. Ruffling and scratching behind his ears tenderly with my hands.

"Well, until the priest passed away about six months ago, the priest was hit by a car while walking his dog. He didn't survive."

I take a sharp breath in, and sneak a glance at Koromaru. _"But he's still taking those walks..."_

My hands pet and fawn at the dog with a softer touch, feeling empathetic.

"Ever since then, that dog sits patiently by the site of the accident. And goes for a walk everyday, just like when his owner was still alive...Oh shoot, I have to get going! My son will be back soon!"

"Aww, you're such a loyal dog! Good boy!" Yukari makes even me smile warmly to Koromaru, as she, Yamagishi and me coo and fawn fondly over him.

"Huh?" my head turns to Yamagishi when she gasps, I raise an eye to her a little confused.

"What's wrong?"

"...Oh, nothing... Sorry." the girl's face seemed troubled and confused, she didn't know how to answer I guessed. "Wait, isn't the chairman coming today?"

I groan at that.

"Then we should go get ready."

"Yeah..." Yukari kneels down to Koromaru again, fondly petting his head, "See you later, Koro-chan!"

x

"Hello everyone, I wanted to let you know how my research has been going."

I twitch, remembering the video clip of him writing a 'report'. Which just turned into him cracking awful puns after another. He better be serious this._  
_

"This concerns the shadows that have been appearing during the full moon." the four-eyed coward continued to talk, "I want you to listen closely, it might be hard to follow."

"R-right..." fingers slowly tie themselves into my hand, my eyes glance to Minako's hand. It was warm.

"Shadows can divide into twelve categories, according to their characteristics."

"Yeah we know, there's twelve of the major Arcana, tarot cards that are used..." I scowl, "Please don't tell me you're just going to say that we can expect twelve giant shadows."

I'm answered with a smile, and growl at it with a glare.

"Ugh, so far it's been... Magician, Priestess, and the last were two so, Empress and Emperor... That's four in total, but seeing the third we can say that some of them can appear with each other..." I sigh with annoyance, I thought I was suppose to be a newer member, "If you're wondering, Magician had a mask with the roman numeral one, or 'I', and I just guessed about Priestess... Seeing as Junpei and Nee-san took it out..."

I stare blankly, remember that night, I was sure we would have died if not for the breaks.

"Ahem, thus we can expect to see twelve in all..."

"And eight we haven't seen yet..." I look over to Yamagishi, and nod with a smile.

At least there was someone else that seemed to be fast on the intake.

"That's exactly right, you're both quite sharp." my expression scowls again, when I see Ikutsuki still smiling.

"Oh, uh, okay... But, what are they after?"

"That's a good question, and that's what we haven't figured out yet, their motive. Unless you know, Minato?"

I keep still, trying to keep a straight face. I didn't know either.

"...The end..." I jump when I hear sister's quiet mumbles in whispers barely audible even for me, her face was scorned in thought before she shook her head, "N-no, that's not right..."

I decide to leave her to her thoughts, she was probably confused about that strange Pharos kid. He didn't seem trustworthy, but was definitely looked more trusting than the other in front of me.

"This is interesting..." Sanada seems a little excited, figures. "But, no matter what, we still have to beat the rest of 'em."

"I agree." Kirijo speaks up as well, with a serious face that was determined for something, "That's about all we can do at this point."

"Eight more, huh? Lucky us..." Yukari groans, not looking forward to any of these battles like Sanada seemed.

"According to the data, each one has been stronger than the last, so we better start training harder..." Yamagishi's words jolt my memory making me jump to my feet.

"Aah!" I smack my fist lightly in my palm, "That's right, teams and the Tartarus."

"Eek, N-ni-chan...?"

"Ah, sorry..." I quickly sit back down, "I just forgot, I wanted to talk to everyone about teams, seeing as... Sanada left leadership to both me and Minako and we have six members that are able to fight it should be fine to make teams..."

I groan a little, hopefully I was making the right choice in doing this. Though I was if it was in terms of abilities, the only problem was...

"Yukari and Kirijo will be with me." I see Yukari fidget, I knew this was going to be easy. "I'm not changing teams up, unless it's a full moon, or you're sick, then we'll be moving in a large group or not going at all."

I glare when I still see her displeasure. I let out a sigh, there was no point in reasoning with Yukari right now.

Distrust and wary were two emotions that I knew were tough and hard to break through, the only one that could was herself. Hopefully it wouldn't cause too many issues.

"So, I'm with Jun-chan and Aki-nii?"

"Yes, that's-A-aki-nii!?" I splutter and gape, _"When did he..."_

x

*"*"*

6/23

"Toni kioku mune ni hime utau~" my voice hums along with my headphones, still in pure bliss when I slide open Hagakure's door.

The smell of their ramen instantly makes my mouth water. Jun-chan got me addicted to this place, especially their special, it was fantastic. My hands slip off my headphones and I walk inside to sit down.

"One special, please!" I smile brightly to the server, swinging my feet contently.

"Think about it Shinji, don't let your power go to waste." I jump to a familiar voice, making my head turn to the direction of the voice. Closer inside was Aki-nii and someone wearing a long maroon-coat and black beanie, who was addressed as Shinji from what I heard.

Quietly I could hear small whines in my heart as it stirred just a little.

"My power ain't worth shit."

"Shinji!" I recoil to Aki-nii's sudden loud burst of angry, but the other man seemed to be un-phased.

"I made up my mind a long time ago," something made a painful cry in my ears, but it was dull and I couldn't make sense of it. Only I couldn't keep my eyes off the two. "I ain't goin' back."

"You have to let the past go." Aki-nii's voice is calm but it sounded a little scary, "What's done is done. It's time you moved on."

The other man scoffs at him, "You should talk."

Something about this made my entire body freeze.

"Here you go, one house special." the server comes by placing down a bowl of ramen in front me, blocking my view of the two.

"Aah...! T-thank you, I'm just going to move over to my friends..." I make a short flustered bow-like nod to the worker, grabbing the hot bowl in my hands and stepping quietly over to where I saw Aki-nii and the other called Shinji were sitting.

The closer I got the better I could see that the two were growling at each other.

"A-Aki-nii...!" I quickly place down the bowl of noodles on the table next to the silver-head, careful of not spilling its contents. "W-what a coincidence!"

I pull up a seat and sit down, looking at the two a bit stunned. Though they seemed just as speechless as I was right then, as both didn't say a word only looking at me for what seemed like minutes.

"Minako..." Aki-nii finally speaks up, he looked a bit panicked, "I-I didn't expect to see you here..."

"Aha...Ha..." I pull lightly on the fringe of my hair, "Y-yeah some coincidence right...? So, um... Who's this?"

I was genuinely curious of who the other was, as I felt like I've seen him somewhere but I couldn't remember where. Which was strange as I promised to myself and made sure to never forget anything once I see it.

Though the stranger thing I should question was why it felt like there was someone else with us, who was desperately calling out.

"...This is Shinjiro Aragaki," the face Aki-nii makes at me puzzles me more, why would be be confused too? "He's a senior and a friend of mine..."

I felt a cold chill run down my spine, again that feeling of something trying to say something. I quickly shake it away, thinking of other things.

"Oh, then um... Shinjiro-senpai, nice to meet you." I smile, but pause when he glares at me. Or something that was glaring or just thinking really hard just then, "I'm Minako Arisato... But you can call me Ko-chan- or, uh... Something like that if you want, aha..."

The silence was suffocating.

"S-so! Both of you got the special right...? Aha," I make a crooked and awkward smile, "W-what another coincidence, so did I..."

*"*"*

"Here." I plaster on a smile, handing the suited man some more bills of yen, ten thousand to be exact.

It was honestly difficult not to laugh throughout this entire time but it was even harder when the other chuckles at me, finally giving up on his charade.

"My foolish little apprentice..." I make low whine in the back of my throat, trying not to choke up tears or let out my laughter. "Ignorance should be a crime."

His sigh, was my limit as I burst into my laughter. Clutching my stomach in pain and tears, startling the other for sure.

"Y-you know..." I snort, "Your face is a little hard to not recognize... _President_ Tanaka..."

I snicker some more when I see how flabbergasted he was. It was only a few weeks that I noticed the man standing around in Paulownia Mall, and out of a whim I decided to talk to him. The results were hilarious in my opinion, as I realized the other actually believed I was naive and thought I was investing my money.

"Oh, and don't worry about the money..." I laugh a bit more controlled this time, but their were still tears in my eyes. "This was worth it, the look on your face."

I lose control of my laughing and burst into a roaring laugh again, just barely hearing someone's voice ring in my head.

_Thou art I... And I am thou...  
Thou hast established a new bond...  
Thou shalt be bless when creating Personas of the Devil Arcana..._

If I wasn't in tears I would be annoyed beyond grief, but I can't focus with the way I kept laughing.

"A-anyway, later..." I smirk, feeling completely refreshed.

"H-hey you brat! Don't you realize you're in the presence of a star!?" I felt another wave of laughter threaten me, when I see the suited other scorn with displeasure.

"Of course, you're the host of that shopping channel," it was hard to drop my smile, "The one with a really annoying jingle."

A snicker escapes my lips when I see him flinch with fury.

"A-Annoying...!?"

"Mm," I smile some more and twirl a finger in the air, playfully like a conductor, "Reaaaal, annoying."

I was expected the other to steam in angry, but surprisingly he smiles like he was pleased.

"Hmm, you're not bad kid... You're a diamond in the rough my boy. All you need is a little polishing and you'll sparkle." his smile ruined a bit of my playful mood, "I usually take my breaks here. I'd be happy to mold your young mind whenever you wish."

"I'd like to see you try." I scoff at him and walk away waving to him with my back facing him, walking out of the mall.

x

6/27

"Uh, do I even want to know..." my eyes twitch a bit, involuntarily as the roaring laughing in the lounge makes my ears ring. On the ground was Minako rolling on top of Junpei with her fingers tickling at his sides, the both of them were laughing so much that their faces were tinged red and their eyes were watering with tears.

"W-Welcome back!" Minako practically screams at me, through her laughter. "N-Ni-chan you can't believe what Aki-nii told me and what Jun-chan found, oh my stomach...!"

She rolls off of Junpei, releasing him from her clutches. Her legs with skewed on the floor, and she used one hand to rub one of her teary eyes.

"K-Ko-tan..." the other is still lying on the ground, breathless from laughter. "Dude, both of those aren't something you'd laugh about man..."

This worried me a little.

"Aw, don't be such spoilsport Jun-chan." she snorts, "You see Aki-nii told me that people think me and Jun-chan were dating! Haha, can you believe that!?"

My face pales and my eyes darken, my biggest worry was why Minako thought that was even funny._  
_

"I mean, like no offence Jun-chan but your gal pal is just your gal pal." my sister snickers with her eyes, poking at Junpei's face playfully, "And then, Jun-chan ended up finding some photo of the girls in their gym clothes!"

"Dude! I said you should just be careful!" the other flusters, now shooting up off his back. "The photo was with you in the center... And, oh shit..."

My eyes glare coldly at my capped-friend, I crouch down next to the both of them. Smiling with malice.

"Junpei, _do go on_." my eyes stare grimly, this was something I wasn't going to let go so easily.

"U-uh well, so a friend of mine found it and asked me about it..." the other starts to sweat, "I swear I don't know man, I'm looking for the culprit too!"

I nearly fall, losing balance on my toes to Junpei's words.

It was surprising.

"Thanks Jun-chan!" Minako tackles him one more time with a hug, knocking him back on the ground. Making him groan in pain and false irritation, that's followed by a cheerful laugh.

The scene in front of me should have felt warm, and made me smile. Yet in my heart I felt it tighten with something uneasy and cold.

I quickly shake the unpleasant feeling off.


	19. Fourth Moon

We're moving a little bit faster now, haha. (Let's just pretend I'm resting as we go and actually am taking a break, aha...)

Please do enjoy!

* * *

**Chatper 19: Fourth Moon  
**

7/7

Dark Hour

"Ugh..." my entire body groans at me, I'm lying on something soft and cushy. "Where is this...?"

I hold my head in pain, everything felt foggy and hazy. My eyes look around me, I was sitting on a large circular bed and surrounded by purple colors and strange red paint was dripping down on parts of the wall.

_"A hotel room...?"_

The sound of running water was humming loudly now, and I could see steam slowly pouring out of the cracks in the bathroom door.

"What was I doing...?" I try to move and get up but something heavy was weighing me down. A jolt makes my head cringe in pain, and my hands move to clutch it as I wince.

"_**Embrace your** **desire...**_"

A voice rang in my head painfully, almost like it was clawing my head open. Each word made the pain even heavier and my chest was pounding.

"**_I am the voice of your inner__ self... Enjoy the moment._**"

My breath felt shorter, my throat was dry. Something felt awful about this voice.

"_**That which cannot be felt is merely a dream... The present is all we** **have.**_"

"T-that's not true..."

"_**The future is but a fantasy, memory a fabrication...**_"

"Memory..." the word makes my entire body shake, it felt like I was forgetting something. Something important and precious, something or someone.

"_**Let your desire free you from your shackles... Such is my wish...**_"

"N-No," I shake my head, my body's trembling with terror. A terror that I couldn't understand, yet understood completely. "I, I'm not..."

"_**Pleasure is what you truly want. You stand before the doorway to bliss, you cannot deny your instincts... Embrace your desire...**_"

"Desire...?" my mind felt like it was getting blank, even though I was in pain my head tilted up and my eyes were drawn to the stripes on the walls.

Red, blood red.

"Minako," my mind felt clearer and the hazy heavy feeling finally disappeared, "T-that's right...! The full moon, and we fought the Hierophant..."

The humming sound of water shuts off, my focus is taken by the sound of a door opening.

"...Uh," my face reddens, "What was I...?"

Yukari was standing in front of me, wearing nothing but a towel. Her hair was still dripping with warm water and there was still steam pouring out from the bathroom.

From the looks of it she wasn't under control, as she screams with embarrassment and smacks me hard across the face.

Somehow it was more painful than the one she gave me when I pissed her off, but at the moment it was important.

"I-IF YOU HAVE TIME TO SLAP ME," I scream, not caring if my voice cracked or not, "THEN PUT SOME C-CLOTHES!"

My eyelids are shut tight but I still hold my hands in front of them, feeling my face redden with embarrassment. I don't even dare to check if the hasty footsteps were hers and she was no longer in front of me.

"~_Oh, I can finally reach you!~_" I jump and bite back a shriek, thankfully Yukari was in the bathroom. "_~Can you two hear me?~_"

"I..." I take in a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "I hear you."

"_~I'm sorry I couldn't contact you sooner, the shadow was interring with your thoughts...~_" I silently growl to that, "_~And you all got separated...~_"

"I see..." I silently worry about my sister, I really hoped that whatever did this didn't do it to everyone else.

Otherwise I would be sure to make it suffer.

"_~The enemy is still in the same room, please regroup and hurry there.~_" I just notice how soothing it was to hear Yamagishi's voice echo in my head, telepathy was still strange but her voice was a lot softer and easier to listen to than the others. Especially the last one. "_~...Did you hear that, Yukari?~_"

I flinch.

"Uh, sorry... Yeah..." the girl's voice was awkward and stiff, "I heard you."

"_~Um... Did something happen?~_"

"N-no!" I sweat and fluster, coughing quickly to cover up my sudden shout, "I mean, no it's f-fine..."

"_~U-um, alright...?~_" I was thankful that Yamagishi didn't push it any further, and even more so that she didn't hear or see any of that. The small soft buzz in my ears dies out, leaving me alone with Yukari again. Who quietly walked out of the bathroom, this time completely dressed.

I couldn't bring myself to look at her.

"Come on! Let's go!" the amount of angry in her voice made fidget nervously, "If you tell anyone... I won't ever speak to you again."

_"...That's actually a kind punishment."_ I don't voice my thoughts to her, still feeling flustered and the pain of her slap.

I honestly felt a little sorry for the shadow now.

"R-Right..." my voice gives a squeak, and I look quickly around for our weapons. Anything that was away from this topic.

x

"Oh! Ni-chan, over here!"

I gape a bit, seeing how absolutely out of place Minako's energy was. It contrasted greatly to the others' awkward expressions, that made me incredibly nervous.

"N-Nee-san... Are you alright...?" I twitch a little looking over to Junpei and Sanada, they're both silent and Kirijo was glaring at one of them. _"Ah, it really did..."_

My pity for the shadow vanished completely, replaced with irritation and anger.

This shadow was going to be murdered for sure.

"Mm, I'm fine?" sis knocks me out of my thoughts as she tilts her head at me, "Ni-chan, you okay? You look kinda... Hmm, dunno red? Are you sick?"

My lips twist into a smile, "N-No, I'm fine. Nothing happened..."

I glance over the rest of the group briefly in thought.

"Y-yamagishi told us that the shadow's power is blanketed over the entire hotel room... N-Nee-san, do you remember the last thing that happened...? After we defeated Hierophant?"

"Huh?" she raises her eye at me in question, "Yeah, Yuka-tan and you checked out some fancy mirror with big hearts on the corners, you know now that I think about it... It was kinda weird, it didn't have our reflections... Oh but after you did, I woke up in another room with Aki-nii."

I notice Sanada flinch, my lips wanted to scowl at him.

"...Alright, our target will be those mirrors then," I take a deep breath out, "I, I think it's best for all of us if we separate into teams..."

"Okay, so Jun-chan and Aki-nii are-"

"N-no, uh... This time, we'll just switch spots Nee-san." I personally didn't want to stick with Yukari at the moment, nor did I want to leave Minako with Sanada after seeing his reaction. "So, girls with girls and guys with guys."

"Uh... Alright, then...?"

"C-Come on Ko-chan," Yukari for once I'm thankful that she whisked Minako away, "L-Let's hurry up and get that shadow..."

The undertone of angry was enough to make me shiver one more time, as I watched the trio of girls walk away. All armed and two with something dark in their steps.

"S-so... Did you see goods?"

"...Junpei, don't." my eyes glare hard at him. I didn't want to relive that moment, ever again. "...But if our situations were similar... Sanada..."

The boxer seemed to freeze up on my words, his face paled but reddened.

"N-No, she wasn't the one in the s-shower..." he holds his gloved hands up, but his expression is twisted. "B-but... Minato, your sister- Minako..."

"Huh?" something about the way he stuttered made me worry.

"D-did you two really bathe together still...?"

I choke.

*"*"*

"YOU WALKED IN ON HIM!?" my hands clutch hard on the rod of the naginata as my ears are stabbed with Yukari's scream, "WHEN HE WAS SHOWERING!?"

"Y-yeah... W-why?" I meekly walk a step farther from the other, not wanting another painful scream in my ears.

"K-Ko-chan, w-wasn't he you know!?" I blink at her for a moment before getting what she meant.

"Ooh! That."

"W-what do you mean by that!?" Yukari's face was completely pale, almost made me want to laugh a little.

It's not like it was that bad of walking in on him.

"I kinda panicked when I heard water you know...?" I smile a little nervous, "Cause, ya know... Blood and all that... Aha..."

"...M-Minako, did you really not feel anything though?" I tilt my head to Mit-nee, and shake it a little confused.

"Mm, I just woke up on the bed and heard the shower," I let a giggle out, "It was kinda funny seeing Aki-nii's face though..."

"...I could only imagine." Yukari's voice was grumbling, I guess she was still upset about being with brother.

"You know, I don't see what's wrong. I mean you were in a towel and Ni-chan and I would take baths together when we were younger... I think."

"G-geh!? Y-You think!?"

"Yeah, I'm not too sure... I think we should have, I mean, we are twins so it wouldn't be weird to bathe together right?"

"...That's a... interesting way to put it- huh?" I stop when Mit-nee's footsteps halt, she was standing in front of one of the rooms. "Takeba, Minako it looks like there's a mirror in here."

"Oh! Okay, let's break it quickly then!"

x

*"*"*

"Alright, everyone ready?"

I see a deathly look in Yukari's eyes, and Sanada was cracking his knuckles. Both were giving off a smothering aura of a malice.

"...I'm taking that as a yes." I clutch hard on my sword and open the door again, that a massive pink heart with gel-like wings and body was floating behind.

I took the heart-decor, the pink-scheme and the Mars and Venus signs that floated inside its body, as a painful hint that this was the sixth Arcana; Lovers.

"How dare you pull shit like that with us..." Sanada's anger made mine burn out like ashes.

"So this is the punk!" I flinch at how much fury was in Yukari's voice, "I'll teach you not to mess with a girl's heart!"

It was honestly too hard for me to even muster up my own angry right now, it was clear that I didn't need to. Seeing that there were already two of six in the team that were steaming in rage, enough for maybe even all of us put together.

"Cool it you two!" I growl, holding up the evoker. "Pyro Jack!"

A jack-o-lantern pumpkin that wore a dark navy cape and wizard-hat appeared in front of me, waving its lantern with its glove. Casting its green magic of sukunda, slowing the movements of the Lovers shadow.

"GARU!" a violent wind nearly flies straight at me, if not for the Pyro Jack and Minako pulling me out of the way of Yukari's attack.

"Aah, that's close... Thanks Pyro-chi!" Minako smiles at the persona, before it cackles and vanishes.

How she spoke to them, I would never understand but that wasn't important right now.

"YUKARI! I said COOL IT!" I bark out with a loud shout, I wouldn't let her or Sanada end up killing us from being blind in rage.

"Rakunda!" a purple light follows quickly after my words, my eyes glance to Sanada. His light-blue persona was out briefly before it vanished.

_"At least he's tactical about this."_

"Alright! My turn!" Junpei runs in swinging his sword like a bat, recklessly at that.

"J-Junpei!" I curse when he stumbles, misses his target and leaving a large opening. "Nee-san, Yukari back-up and Sanada, Kirijo you both keep-"

"NI-CHAN LOOK OUT!"

My eyes dart in front, but my body can't react fast enough when I see a pink arrow fly right at me. Hitting me right in the chest.

"N-Ni-chan...!"

Pain shot through my body and then I felt that hazy weight on my chest again, only this one was stronger and my body starting moving on its own.

"_~Everyone, Minato is charmed please be careful!~_"

My body swings my sword swiftly in the air at Sanada, despite how much I protected against the magic.

"Whoa!" the other quickly jumps away from the sword's reach.

The way my body was moving like a puppet felt humiliating, but the worse was to come when my hands reached for my evoker. Putting it at my head.

"S-stop..." my eyes shut at the shatter, feeling Take-Mikazuchi roar out a battle cry. Its blade swung down hard and I could feel static burst through the air.

"M-MINA-CHAN STOP MIKA-CHI!" a shattering of glass, and more electricity burst'd in the air. Making the air around still for a moment. "Y-Yuka-tan! Charmdi! Charmdi!"

"Aah! R-right! IO!"

A warmth surrounded me, melting away the heavy feeling on my chest. Clearing out my head, I shake it for good measure.

"T-thanks." my eyes glare hard at the large shadow, raising the gun to my head. This time of my own free will, "You...! Getsu-ei!"

The red-skinned swordsman appeared once more, this time with a dead smirk on its face. With its sword it slashed hard at the Lovers, making it twirl in the air from the hit.

"Ugh...! I can't lose to him!" my shoulders flinch when I someone mutter, it sounded like Junpei. "HERMES!"

His bird-like persona swept down, nearly hitting me if I didn't duck just then.

"GOD DAMMIT! LISTEN TO ORDER AND STOP DOING YOUR OWN THING!" I snarl, ticked for a new reason. "Or at least try not to hit allies too!"

This time I saw the pink arrow glow near me and jump out its way.

"Oh- Fuck no!" I click my tongue with irritation, "I'm not going through this a third time!"

Without thinking and blinded by my annoyance I chuck my sword straight at the shadow, as if was a dart. I felt like smacking myself on how stupid was, thankfully it actually did hit and did do some damage but it left me without a weapon.

I do hiss.

"Lilim! Bufu and then garu!" Minako quickly steps in front of me, calling out Lilim a devil woman. That freezes both sides of the Lovers' wings down and gives a push with a garu spell, knocking it down to the ground. "Jun-chan! Aki-nii!"

"R-right! HERMES!"

"POLYDEUCES!"

I'm left utterly speechless when Junpei lets out another kill rush from Hermes and Sanada goes in closer with his persona, punching alongside it.

Both of them were completely reckless, especially Minako.

_"Please tell me they don't act like this in the Tartatrus..."_

I felt as though I should rearrange the teams, maybe Kirijo would be better off to stay with Minako and Junpei. I'll think about it a little later.

"Pri-chan! Media!" an angel that vaguely reminded me of a statue in america appeared, waving its staff gracefully casting its magic on all of us. Taking parts of the pain and weary away.

Though it was baffling why she called the angel 'Pri-chan', instead of its full name of Principality.

"GARU!" a slash of wind zips by again, this was almost annoying as that voice.

"PENTHESILEA!" a cold chill this time passes by me, even Kirijo was doing it.

I groan under the cries of the shadow, being practically pulverized without me even doing anything.

_"This was a terrible night."_

x

"And well job Arisato, for withstanding the enemy's mental assault."

I let out a yawn, not bothering how I did practically nothing for tonight. Other than getting charmed and losing my cool this night.

"Alright, let's call it a night." the seniors walk on ahead of us.

"Haa," I let out a heavy sigh, feeling extremely exhausted like something sapped all my energy. "Ugh..."

"Hehehe, tired?"

"Mm..." I drowsily nod, feeling ready to sleep for a week.

"Cool tell me later." my head turns to Yukari and Yamagishi, the two were chatting about something strange but I was too tired to really care. Only the girl sounded a lot happier and cheerful than she did before. "Alright! We should head back, too. Fuuka played a big role again in this one, so score another for the second years!"

If I had the energy I would snap at the girl for treating this as a game, when she knew it wasn't first-hand.

"Come on, Junpei. What are you doing?"

"Minato..." my head turns a little annoyed again to Junpei when he calls out to me, "So, you're the hero again, huh?"

The amount of irk in his tone made me feel a bit pissed, even though I was dead tired.

"It's just luck..." did I even want to bother trying to mention that I did nothing in that battle, I take another look at his face. It was clear reason wasn't going to get through his ego as he glared at me.

"Yeah, right... You know it's not."

"Hey, why do you have to be like that?" the smile on Yukari's face made my stomach flip uneasy, this didn't look good. "Don't tell me you're jealous."

"Shut up!" the other snaps at her, and he trots away quickly.

"Aah- Jun-chan!" Minako quickly chases after him, with a worried face.

"Ugh, what's up HIS butt?"

"Yukari..." I groan at her, "For once listen to him, and shut up."

My entire body felt heavy, like my limbs were lead and dead. For a few seconds it felt like there was something watching us, making me feel anxious and glance around in a wary fashion.

"...I must be really tired..."

_"There's no way someone's watching us..."_

I drag my feet over and try to catch up with Minako, with Yamagishi and Yukari quietly following behind me.


	20. Past's Poison

It's quite interesting to see how Minato is being suggested with Minako, ehehe. I'm actually quite fond of the ship myself, it's a little sad that I can't use it in this fic since Minako will be shipped with someone else, along with some other reasons that I won't say just yet!

Anyways please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 20: Past's Poison  
**

7/8

"Here kitty kitty..." my voice coos quietly to the skinny cat, my legs were kneeled on the ground. Where I found at small grey cat that was staggering around the outskirts of the station. He looked so thin and malnourished and I couldn't leave it alone. So, I ran over to shops for some cat food and brought a bottle of clean water for the petite animal.

I held a small handful of kibble in lowly on the ground, trying to urge the weak cat to eat some.

"Come on..." the cat slowly nudges my fingertips, sniffing at it before taking a few bits of kibble. "There, there... I have some water too..."

My eyes watched the cat with warm affection, I could feel his purring on my fingertips. Lightly with my other hand, I softly scratched behind the cat's ear, being careful of not getting in the way of a long-needed meal.

"Hey, you... You're from Gekkou high, aren't ya?"

I look up when footsteps come closer to me, in front of me was a unfamiliar man with dirty-blonde hair that was slicked back. He seemed to be talking to me from the looks of it.

"Um, I'm from Gekkoukan, why...?" I keep my hands steady, not wanting to take them away from the small cat just yet.

"Then you should know a blue-haired punk, right."

I frown, thinking about how he said the word 'punk' so loathsomely but I could only think of one person. "You mean Ni-chan...?"

The other leers out a grin to me, with glaring eyes making me jolt back a bit. "So, you're that brat's sister?"

Someone, inside my head hushed me to run but I couldn't. My concern for the small animal keep me frozen to the ground. _"He's too weak to move quickly and if it hit by mistake..."_

I'm forced out of my thoughts, when I'm pulled up by my hair and my fingers drop the bits of kibble to ground.

"Eek! H-hey, let go!" my eyes wince from the painful tugs, my hands are trying to pry his grip off but he was a lot bigger and stronger than me.

"Let's see how he likes it when you show up a complete wreck!" the other laughs in my face with a scornful grin. "That'll show him for messing with me!"

_"What a coward...!"_

"Meow!" a hiss makes me flinch, my eyes dart down and see the cat was hissing at us. Despite being weak, it was trying it best to claw at the other man's leg.

"The hell?" he scoffs, making an expression of disgust.

"N-No, wait d-don't!"

Its body flung a meter away from us, thumping softly but painful to the ground and hissed lowly in pain. The cat didn't move but I could see it still taking in deep breaths that made its stomach rise up and down quickly.

He kicked the cat, a small cat that had nothing to do with this.

I felt rage boil in my heart, my teeth grit together and my eyes felt like they were burning.

"HOW_ DARE_ YOU!?"

The amount of hate and anger in my voice made me feel sick.

x

*"*"*

"...I'm back."

My head raises up when I notice how strange and down my sister's voice sounded. I jump up when I see her uniform was wrecked, hair tangled and her eyes were swollen. In her arms she was carrying something.

"N-Nee-san!?" I rush over to her, seeing a small cat that was quietly curled up in her arms. It was bandaged in wraps and it snored quietly in her arms. "What happened- your hair, wait no, your face...!"

I could see light marks that seemed to be forming bruises.

"Aha..." she makes a weak laugh but doesn't look to me, "It's nothing, do you know where Mit-nee is...?"

"Yes, is there- Minako!?" Kirijo rushes over next to me, she's checking over her like I had just done.

"Um, sorry I ruined my uniform..." she nibbles on her lips and holds the cat closer to her chest, "U-um, I was wondering if, if he could stay here... Of course I understand if h-he can't b-but at least until he gets better... P-please..."

"I-It's fine, but Minako we need to treat you first..." the red-headed senior brushes her hands lightly over sis' face, careful to not be rough in her touch as she quietly lets out a small dia spell. Letting its light brightly shine over her bruised and tired cheeks.

"T-thank you..." her eyes looked ready to cry but they didn't, only blankly looking at the small grey cat in her arms.

The red of her eyes looked darker than before, almost angry.

Something clearly happened.

x

7/10

"He's looking a lot better now!"

_"So are you..."_ I let a small smile on my lips, seeing Minako finally starting to act like she usually does. Though she still refused to tell me what happen, only answering that it was to save the cat and nothing more.

"So, what's his name?" Fuuka fondly scratches underneath the cat's chin, it was purring loud enough for me to hear.

"Yuu," she warmly gazes at the cat, while it fondly licked at her fingers. "His name will be Yuu."

"Uh, o-okay..." I could tell Fuuka was probably thinking the same as me.

That was not something you normally name a cat.

I decide to focus on reading the notes in front of me.

x

7/11

I vaguely listen to Kirijo's words, as she explains the last full moon to Ikutsuki while we were all sitting in the command room. Though most of my attention was towards Minako, she was still playing with that cat even though we were talking about something serious.

Then again, everyone looked awkward and uncomfortable, given what happened last time.

"...So that's what happened on the night of the seventh." Kirijo seems to finally finish, "It was a difficult operation."

_"...It was more embarrassing than that."_ I hold back a dry chuckle, remembering how angry everyone was during the second shadow and how quickly they destroyed it.

"I see. They're getting tougher, but it's not all bad news." Ikutsuki smiles again, making my eyes roll at him. "I called today's meeting because-"

For once, I wasn't the one to interrupt the meeting or the man's words.

"I'm sorry." everyone even my sister looks up to Yukari, she had a serious glazed look in her eyes. "Before we go on, I'd like to ask Mitsuru-senpai something."

This something, wasn't boding well with me.

"Me...?" the senior in question was genuinely confused but Yukari didn't seem to pay mind to it and continued.

"Since I joined, so many things have happened... I went along with it, without really understanding what was going on..." her face twists and her eyes are glaring with a dark tint, "But now, I need to know."

My chest unsettled and felt a ting of pain jolt through, a sign that this wasn't going to end that well.

"I'm gonna ask you straight out," the brunette's eyes went into a full-out glare towards the senior, "You've been hiding something from us, haven't you, Senpai?"

I felt a wash of deja vu again, watching the girl interrogate Kirijio.

"You act like you don't know anything about the dark hour and Tartarus," the girl smirks with a bit of pride, "But they're related to that accident ten years ago, aren't they?"

I instantly tense up.

The cat in Minako's arms quickly scurries away out of the room, its loud hiss was more than evident that Minako was frozen too. She must have squeezed the grey cat in her arms by instinct.

"Y-Yukari-chan..."

"There was an explosion near our school, and a lot of people-"

"_Takeba_," my voice hisses, while I reach out to cup her lips. My eyes narrow over to Minako, she was stiff as a lifeless stone. "Nee-san..."

I tap on the silver headphones that hung around my neck, gesturing for her and urging her to listen to her music.

She didn't need to hear this.

"N-No, I'm fine." she shifts in the chair and sinks a little closer to Junpei, her hands clutched at her skirt until her knuckles were white.

I growl and glare at the brunette, with my sister watching, I couldn't just snap at the girl.

"Takeba, remember _watch it_." my words are icy and I move back to sit down, staring blankly and waiting for the girl to continue.

"I-It must've been big news back then. So you know about it, don't you?"

It takes a moment for Kirijo to answer but her only reply is a soft nod.

"Luckily, no students were injured but..." the tone of the other girl's voice was aggressive and full of an accusing rage, "Around the same time, a large number of students were recorded as absent. Seems like more than just a coincidence."

I could feel myself becoming irritated, the girl was starting to get on my nerves. She was doing it again, assuming what was what but this time it was at its worst.

"I dug up some school records, and found something interesting." her face twists, "The students who were absent, they all suddenly collapsed suddenly and had to be hospitalized."

_"This was..."_ my body rises up, piecing it together.

"Sound familiar?" she smirks again, "You know, like the girls who bullied Fuuka..."

All of us were silent, even Kirijo was speechless and unable to respond. Her face was shocked and paled.

She didn't know until now.

"There has to be an explanation, what really happened on the day of the accident?" her face was scowling with anger, "The Kirijo group built our school, so you must know something! Tell me the truth!"

I felt bad for snapping, but I couldn't hold it in anymore. The girl was at the last straw.

"Takeba, stop." I was ready to smack the girl but I wouldn't, "I hoped that you would be smart enough to stop doing this shit."

The girl seems to snap at me, clicking her tongue and glaring daggers at me. Which I return with my own glare and a snarling voice.

"First, you _know_ about our past and you know how insensitive you're being right now." I force out a chuckle, "In fact, I bet you would slapped me again if I was doing this and you would have called me a bastard or some other shit like that."

I let out a large sigh, glancing to Ikutsuki and Kirijo. My irritation only furthered when I saw Ikutsuki smiling lightly at me, with eyes that disgusted me.

"Secondly, if you really think that this is unfair and you have right to know about these 'secrets' or 'truth'." my heart tightened and I could feel my anger slowly melt into something I never wanted to feel.

Grief.

"I would like to remind you, of how _persuasive_ Ikutsuki was when it came to us joining." I could feel my eyes sting a little, no I couldn't let out tears now. I wasn't going to cry, I refuse to ever cry again.

"Compared to you who joined with your own free will and held a motive to but what I'm saying here is that you're being a fucking immature brat that needs to grow up and-"

"MINATO!" I'm pushed down on the couch, by a hand I least expected. Minako's, her eyes were glaring with tears and her lips were trembling. "S-Stop..."

She quickly sits back down next to me, staring down at her knees. I click my tongue before shutting my mouth completely, I was going too far and knew it.

"...I," Kirijo seemed to find her voice again as she speaks up, "Wasn't trying to hide anything from you. It just never seemed relevant. But-"

Her voice is cut off.

"It's okay, it's not your fault."

My body tenses, hearing that tone. It was the exact same tone that I heard from everyone around us, that feigned pity and love towards me and Minako.

I was on edge, even when Kirijo seemed to calm down. _"That man, Shuji Ikutsuki... He's definitely the one hiding something."_

"Alright... I'll tell you the whole story," the senior takes in a deep breath before beginning, "The shadows have many mysterious abilities, some research indicates that they can even affect time and space."

The dark hour instantly came to mind.

"We think of them as our enemies, but what if we could somehow use them to our advantage? They would be a source of unimaginable power, wouldn't they?"

This was starting to remind me of a video game or movie, the only thing missing was a mad scientist.

"Fourteen years ago, one man pursued that line of thinking. He was the former leader of the Kirijo group, Kouetsu Kirijo, my grandfather."

Here was our mad scientist, if this was a joke I would probably laugh but I knew this was real and serious.

"My grandfather was obsessed with the shadows, he wanted to harness their power for something extraordinary. He assembled a team of top scientists and over several years, he put together an impressive collection of shadows."

"He what!?" my surprise was accompanied by Junpei's yelp, "Damn, that's freakin' crazy!"

"However, ten years ago, during the final stages of the experiment they lost control of the shadows' power."

"T-Then," my voice came out more shaky than I wanted, "That tower, the green night really was..."

"...Yes, Tartarus and the dark hour came into being."

_"And even our accident could have been..."_

"By their account, the mass of shadows they collected split into several large ones that then dispersed."

"...The full moon shadows." I felt a shiver go down my spine, hearing how quiet Minako's voice was.

It was dead and sullen, nothing like her at all.

"Wait a minute," Yukari's voice raises up again, "If what you said is true, then why did our school turn into Tartarus." Her face pales as she gasps realizing it, "...Don't tell me... That's where they conducted the experiment!?"

"...Yes." Kirijo's eyes were downward, her face had guilt written all over it. Even though it was clearly impossible for her to have taken actual part in this.

What can an eight year old child do?

"Then, those students who were hospitalized..."

"I'm afraid it's just as you're thinking." the red-head clutched her fingers briefly out of guilt or resolution I wasn't sure, "Port Island must have been an ideal location for them, it was a highly-populated area, and the Kirijo group had influence there. They could do as they pleased..."

Her voice was bitter and sorrowful.

"As you guessed, the experiment ten years ago was conducted at Gekkoukan high school."

"Does that mean..." Yukari's face twists with rage and disgust once more, "All we've been doing is cleaning up there mess!? You lied to us?"

The other is silent, as Yukari continues yelling. Her eyes glare towards Sanada, who was just as silent.

"You knew too, didn't you, Senpai!? They've just been using us! Or, do you not care as long as you get to fight?"

"I never said anything like that!" he growls with eyes that were angered just as much as the ones that glared at him, his expressed slowly fell into something somber and dark. It was look I was all too familiar with, despair and mourning. "I have my reasons..."

Minako shifts closer to me, she was getting uncomfortable and so was I.

"Think what you'd like... It was my decision not to share that information." my eyes glance at Kirijo, it almost felt like I was watching a a child carrying all their toys at once. She was shouldering all of the blame and even her eyes were blaming herself. "...I'm sorry."

The respect I had for the other was in a brighter light, she was someone who was no different than us. She was just another victim, only she held herself as the culprit in her eyes.

"I never intended to deceive you, convincing you to join SEES was my highest priority." her face falls with even more guilt, "As absurd as it may seem, only we-with our personas-can fight with the shadows."

"How could you...!?"

"P-please stop..." a sob makes everyone silent.

"Nee-san..." my hands are hesitant to reach out to her, as teardrops falls one after another down her cheeks.

"I-I, don't remember anything from then..." she sniffs rubbing her eyes, "A-and, I felt it wasn't fair that N-Ni-chan could remember but I couldn't..."

My hands move back down to my sides, she didn't need me right now. Rather I couldn't bring myself to hold her up right now, I was too scared to.

Afraid to admit she hated me somewhere deep inside.

"But, the past is something we can't change..." her lips weakly smile, "A-and we can't blame people who had no control over it..."

"That's right, we're all in the same boat here." my eyes narrowly glare at Ikutsuki, "None of us deserve the burden that's been thrust upon us. It's been ten years since that incident... No one knows why those shadows suddenly returned."

Liar, he probably knew.

"But, since they're active at least we can find and destroy them... Do you realize what this means?" his smile makes me want to lean over to punch him. "What if I told you that those twelve shadows are the cause of everything?"

"Then if we defeat them all, Tartarus and the dark hour will disappear...?"

"Exactly!" the man smiles ecstatic to Sanada, "That's what I was going to tell you earlier, see it's good news isn't it?"

"...Is that really true." I was completely skeptical, he was too fishy.

"There's evidence to support it, now our true battle begins."

He ignored my wary eyes and kept speaking, still smiling all the while.

Only adding to my suspicion.

"Regardless of what happened in the past," I see his brown eyes make contact with mine, "We must fight to protect the people."

I growl, knowing that he was directly mentioning that for me. He knew, I was completely doubtful of him but he was using danger to persuade and keep me in check.

Using my sister as a collar to keep me on a leash.

A true bastard.

I clench my jaws in frustration, for now I could only keep an eye on him and listen to orders.

"Meow..."

I nearly let out a yelp when a cat jumps up on my lap, pawing its way over to Minako.

"Ooh, Yuu! Are you hungry?" the air around begun to slowly ease up, but I still felt a sour taste of dissatisfaction in my mouth. Yukari's face showed it too, she looked as doubtful as I was feeling.

Again a heavy feeling squirmed in my chest, it didn't bode well and I felt that this wouldn't be the only time I feel like this.

x

*"*"*

7/12

"Yuu come here!"

"...Nee-san, you make it sound like he's a dog."

I snort to Minato's words, we were both staying up late today. After what happened yesterday, everyone was staying somber and sullen. Awkward and tense, moving around on their own accord for time to think.

I hoped that everyone would get along soon, but something about what they talked about tugged hard at my heart and made my chest flutter violently.

"Mew?"

Bright wide eyes were looking at me, full and brimming with life.

Yuu, the grey cat was a lot better and would often climbing his way to our bed during the night. I was delighted with joy when Mit-nee let me keep the small cat as long as I took proper care of him.

"I'm so glad you're all better..." my fingers lightly scratch at the cat, tender with love and care not to be to rough. I still grimaced when thinking about how I snapped at that man.

_"...Well Ni-chan and I are twins..."_ it would make sense for me to have such a terrible fuse blow like that, but to go into an all-out brawl... The memory still felt awful, thankful when there was a chance I ran with Yuu scooped into my arms before we hurt each other too much. _"...I'll never..."_

Dark Hour

The world shifts around us, the smell of blood filled the air and the world was bathed in a dark green light. Yuu shifts in my lap, hissing at the unfamiliar scene.

"Shh, Yuu it's alright." my fingers tease lightly through his fur, trying to calm the cat down.

Only it was pointless as he jumps off my lap running under the bed when someone greets us out of the darkness.

"It's good to see you again." I glance up to see Pharos, he was smiling as always and his blue-eyes were stunning and clear even in the dark green light. "How long has it been since we first met? Time passes so quickly."

My lips curve into a smile, he was always nice to see.

"So, how's life as a persona-user?"

My lips fall a bit, "Something feels like it's missing still..."

Which was probably my memory but that was a lost case.

"I wonder what..." the smaller child's voice was genuine and sincere, "I hope you'll find it soon."

"What did you come here for."

I groan to Minato, he needed to be more polite.

This was a child, not some kind of monster.

"I remembered something else about the coming of the end..." he closes his blue-eyes in reminisce, "It all goes back to an occurrence that took place many years ago..."

"Ten years ago, if I remember correctly."

I flinch, this was starting to feel creepy and way too familiar.

"Hey, didn't your parents pass away about ten years ago?"

"Who told you that!?" brother's voice was panicked, he was just as or even more freaked out than I was.

The boy, Pharos makes another smile accompanied by a childish giggle. "A persona is like a mirror, which means a persona-user can never escape from his true self."

His smile softens and I felt calmer and more at ease.

"Regardless I will stay with you..." his eyes brighten even more in the dark light, "Because we're friends."

My cheeks warm a bit, feeling happy and touched. I return his smile with my own.

"Good night, Pharos."

He giggles one more time, before he fades away leaving his last whisper as a good night.


	21. Forewarning in Yakushima

Here we go! Getting into more of the changes I've done to the plot, ehe.

I'm sure a lot of you will be surprised when I throw them in. (Especially about a certain cat that's already popped up in here.)

I hope you enjoy! (If updates suddenly stop, that means I've been forced to take a proper break at home. Aha, sorry about that.)

* * *

**Chapter 21: Forewarning in Yakushima  
**

7/13

"What's wrong, everyone? Are you guys hungry?"

I let out a breath, finally easing when someone speaks up. Though I wish Aki-nii wouldn't have cut through the silence with something so strange and out of the blue.

"N-Not really..."

The room falls silent again, everything was heavy and awkward. Even the grey cat was still, not asleep as he could feel the tense air.

"Umm," Fuuka shifts in her seat, making everyone's eyes look to her. I hoped dearly that this silence would end. "Y-You know, it's almost summer break. Do you have any plans?"

My body rises up a bit in my chair, perking up. Everyone had to look a little brighter with this.

"I wish I could go to the beach. Hot sand, cool breeze... Babes in bikinis..." right on cue, Jun-chan's face was already drooling in his daydreams.

"...I almost agreed until the whole 'babe' thing..."

I snort at brother, his face was tinged in a light embarrassed flush.

"Ha, come on man, it sure would be nice." he leans over with a carefree grin, "Somewhere in the south, where the water is crystal clear!"

I saw a good chance to tease the other, giving him a devious snicker. "But first you got exams to think about!"

My snickers turn into giggles, seeing his face drop with a grunt.

"Now, now. You'll be fine." Fuuka's voice was soothing and her smile was warming, "But yeah, I'd love to go somewhere famous for its beautiful beaches, like Okinawa."

"Well it's not Okinawa, but how about Yakushima?"

I let out a squeak of surprise, taken by surprise when I hear Ikutsuki-san's voice. _"Ugh... I thought I was going to fall off my chair..."_

"Mr. Chairman... I didn't realize you were here." Mit-nee seemed just as surprised, only she still held her composure.

"I happened to be in the area, so I thought I'd drop by and tell you my schedule for next week." he smiled as he walked in, his brown suit made me feel like sweating. I really didn't get why or how he was able to wear that in summer. "Mitsuru, your father will be vacationing in Yakushima during the break."

I see Mit-nee's dark red eyes glimmer with something bright and warm, joy.

"He will...?"

"You'll all have some time off after exams, right? Why don't you go and pay him a surprise visit?"

_"Wait what-"_

"Seriously!?" Jun-chan jumps up from his chair, knocking it down to the ground. "We're gonna go on a trip!?"

His face was drowning in joy as I saw the biggest grin on his face ever.

"YES!" he shouts like it was the best day of his life, "Beach babes, here I come!"

I couldn't hold back my giggling to that, especially when Yukari sighed at him, completely speechless by the other. I'm joined in my laughter with Fuuka and hear light chuckles from Minato as well.

"How about it Mitsuru?"

"But, my father is a busy man... I don't want to ruin his vacation..."

Ikutsuki-san lets out a laugh, smiling brightly at the red-headed senior. "Don't worry, no father would be upset with a daughter who came all that way to see him."

I nod energetically in agreement, there's no way Mit-nee's father would be upset.

"You've all done a great job. You deserve to relax for a while." the man pats her on the shoulder lightly to reassure her, "We already know when the next operation will be, so it should be fine."

"I...don't know." my lips frown a bit, why would she be so against admitting that she wanted to go.

"Senpai! I'm beggin' ya!" I decide to join Jun-chan, it couldn't hurt.

"Please, Mit-nee?" I try my best to use the softest voice I could manage and look at her with wide needy-eyes.

I could see brother hold back a laugh, he always knew when I was trying to beg.

"...Alright," the other's lips curve into a smile, "I guess everyone needs a break now and then. Let's do it."

"Woohoo!" Jun-chan's cheering brought my own lips into a grin, everyone was back to normal again.

"Hmm, the beach... I should design a special training regimen."

"A-Aki-nii..." I felt like snorting at how the two were both excited and yet differed so greatly in reasons.

"Ooh- I have to go buy a swimsuit..." my head flips to Fuuka, making me realize both me and Minato didn't have one either.

"Ah! Me and Ni-chan too...!"

"Hey, don't worry! I got an extra pair you can borrow!"

"Eh? Really?" my head tilts to Jun-chan, "B-but I have enough money to buy a pair-"

"Nee-san please." a hand taps on my shoulder, Minato's eyes were staring coldly at Jun-chan. "Not funny."

"Are you going to swim too, Ikutsuki-san?

"I'm afraid I can't," the man laughs happily, "I'll turn into dust if I'm exposed to sunlight."

I snort, "Like a vampire?"

My lung are laughing so much that I don't notice we were short of two in the room, until much later.

x

*"*"*

7/18

"I'm done, baaaaby!" my ears wince at how loud Junpei's shout was. "The dark days of testing are finally over! The sun is shinin' bright!"

"Ugh, shut up..." I try to block the sound out with my hands, keeping my head flat on the table. It was the last day of finals, I ended up finishing early and so I ended up falling asleep.

Which was a terrible idea, as it left me cranky and groggy with sore muscles.

"So, how'd you do?" Yukari's voice joins in on the noise.

"Hey, check it out it out! I aced P.E.!"

"Well, that pretty much answers the question."

"Psh, a real man don't dwell on the past," I flinch at Junpei's statement, "I'm thinking ahead to Yakushima!"

"...Ah," I yawn finally cranking my head off the desk, "I forgot about that..."

"Hehe, jeez Ni-chan, how could you forget something like that!" Minako's head swings down to eye-level with me, "Me, Yuka-tan and Fuu-chi are going swimsuit shopping, do wanna come?"

I groan, smacking my head on the table again which in turn she snort at.

"Oh come on, Ni-chan..." she prods me on my arm and her voice mewls playfully in my ears, "Unless you're alright with a _bikini_!"

I jolt up and gawk at her, for a moment I mistook her words for herself but I knew her and paled a bit.

"Nee-san, that's _not_ funny."

"Alright! I'll take that as a yes then! Yuka-tan, let's go get Fuu-chi!" her smile is wide as she slips her arms into Yukari's whisking the other out of the room, "Meet you at the front!"

"Right..." I let another yawn out, letting my eyes grow teary in sleep.

"Hey..." I grunt when I hear Junpei call out to me again, he sounded a little worried. "I know I've been kind of a dick lately...but we're still cool, right?"

My eyes narrow at the other out of amusement.

"Don't worry about it," a let a smile on my lips grow into something genuinely happy, " 'Sides I think you should worry about Nee-san getting angry if we're late."

"Thanks dude," he smiles at me, "Anyway, that's all history now, it's you and me now bro."

I snort, "I could say so many things about that, but come on let's go."

x

"Huh, Fuuka?" I was a little surprised when I saw Fuuka and that other girl, Moriyama were together and they were walking back to the school. _"Didn't Nee-san say that Fuuka was going to go shopping with them?"_

"Oh, Minato," the smaller girl flusters a bit, "I'm sorry, I'm going to be stay behind with Natsuki-chan for a bit but I'll see you all later back at the dorms."

I felt a warm smile crawl on my lips, the other had really changed.

"It's alright." my hand moves up to ruffle her teal hair lightly, "Don't stay out too late-" I snort when her face reddens into a large blush, her petite hands swat mine off her hand completely embarrassed. "I'm just kidding, haha."

The two pace back inside, "I'm really surprised at how much she's changed."

"Mm, I think we've all changed..." I thought of just how this year has really changed.

"Eeeee!"

A familiar-sounding squeal raises our attention, sending our gazes over the front gate. To where Minako was holding up a child in her arms, who looked uncomfortable being hung in her arms and rested on her chest.

I nearly choke.

*"*"*

Cute, this kid was absolutely cute, those were my very first thoughts but I didn't really pick him up into a hug just for that. It was just something about him made me feel like I needed to hug him, I could feel my heart stir in response. As though they were pleased with my decision, but at the same they sounded almost worried.

"So!" my smile is bright as I scoop his legs up in my arms, so he not just hanging in my arms. "I'm Minako, but call me Ko-chan, what's your name?"

The boy wasn't too heavy nor was he too tall, only being maybe a few inches shorter.

"U-um..." he looked at me with wide brown eyes, "K-Ken Amada..."

"Then," my eyes grin at him with my lips, "Ken-"

"Nee-san!?" my spins on my heel, still holding Ken in my arms.

"Oh! Good timing! Ken this is Ni-chan, Minato." I swing on my feet, "Ni-chan this is Ken! Ikutsuki-san said he'll be staying in the dorms for the summer break, isn't that neat?"

"Doesn't that mean..."

"Yes that's right, he has the potential." I nearly forgot Ikutsuki-san was still here, jumping at the sound of his voice from behind me.

My heart stirs as if to tell me something, there was something that tugged at my chest and it worried me. The feeling was unfamiliar and made me feel a bit nauseous.

"Ko-tan, dude you should really put the kid down."

"H-huh- ooh! I'm sorry," I fluster just realizing how tense Ken was in my arms, and gently but quickly put him down back on his own feet, "S-sorry about that, I swear I won't whisk you up like that again!"

My eyes frown at him feeling ashamed and really embarrassed, I must have made him feel incredible awkward.

"It's alright," I'm surprised by how mature he sounded, "But, um, please don't do that again..."

I beam a smile, relaxing. For a second I thought I was seeing a second Minato in front of me, hiding something inside himself within an aura of forced maturity.

x

7/20

"I hate boats."

I roar out with a bright laugh, watching brother hang off the rails with little energy. It was a little mean on my part but I couldn't resist, the sight was too priceless.

"Come on Ni-chan we're almost there." I let my laugh turn into light giggles, gently rubbing his back as he groaned in sea-sickness. "Ooh, look there-"

"Awesome! There it is!" I jolt at the ringing wail of joy, looking over to Jun-chan with a startled expression as he runs to the rails next to us. Leaning over them and jumping like a little kid, I could feel my throat tickle with another laugh. "Ya-ku-shi-maaaa!"

I use my fingers to cover my lips, along with bite down my teeth to pinch back my laugh.

"W-Wow, so many tropical plants...! Take a look at that one..." Fuuka's voice sounded a bit odd, and before I knew it the laughter that taunted me ceased. Seeing the heavy air lingering between Mit-nee and Yukari.

_"Oh boy... Hopefully things get better during the trip..."_ I clench a fist with conviction, if they didn't solve the problem then I would help. Awkward or not, it was terrible to see the two be so silent with each other.

"I-It's totally amazing, huh! Man, this is so awesome..." I wince at how forced Jun-chan's voice was, he was trying his best to lighten the mood up a bit. Trying a tad too hard. "I'm not even kidding!"

Might as well join.

"Yeah!" I lean to his shoulder giving it a loose hug, "This is the first time I've been on a trip like this! We're gonna so much fun!"

It felt painful to grin through this mess.

x

"W-Wow..." I'm completely speechless at the number of staff that were dressed all in black and white, to think Mit-nee was served by maids was incredible. Though it probably was a given with her heritage and family. _"...Those look really cute... I wonder if Ni-chan and Mit-nee would let me try wearing one...?"_

Maybe I could even get some laughs out of everyone by acting like a maid for a day, I smile. That was definitely something I want to try someday with everyone.

A low grunt makes brother shuffle on his feet, he's standing straight and his face was completely serious or blank. My red-eyes follow his silver, looking over to a suited man, aged with experience and had a black eye-patch on his right eye.

He held a overwhelming aura of maturity and knowledge, making me feel even smaller and younger than I really was.

"It's good to see you." Mit-nee's words give me bit of shock, they were emotionless and stoic yet her eyes were gleaming with happiness.

_"Could he be...?"_

The elder man silently left, not uttering a single word to anyone, not even Mit-nee. His back though it was covered by just a business suit looked heavy, like he was carrying large burden underneath his light brown suit.

"Dude, talk about scary!" my eyes wander to Jun-chan's face, "He's not gonna make us walk the plank is he?"

I choke back a snort before giving him a light smack on his arm, "J-Jun-chan, don't be rude...!"

A light chuckle sounds near us, it was Mit-nee. Her smile and face looked a lot brighter than it did mere moments ago, which I smile to, she really wanted to see her father after all. "We won't be here long, but make yourself at home."

"Sweet! This is gonna rock!" Jun-chan nudges me light with a wide grin, "Hey, wanna go to the beach? It's right there."

A tingling sensation of excitement sparked in me and I nod right away, with sparkling eyes and a bit of a giddy jump in my feet.

"Dude, this place rules! Come on, let's go!"

"Mm! Ni-chan you too! I'm sure you'll feel better if you stayed outside!" I'm beaming with thrilling curiosity and joy, rummaging through my bags for swimsuits.

My delight only furthers when his hands help me in my search, seeing that even his eyes were smiling.

x

*"*"*

"Ahh... I got my sandals on... Givin' my feet a chance to breathe..." I chuckle lightly, seeing Junpei run through the sand carrying a swim tube in his arm. "Yup, summer's here!"

He was just like a kid, though I had to admit it did feel nice to be out in the sun like this.

_"The boat ride... Not so much..."_ I groan just thinking of the trip back, I would have to just bare with it.

"Darn, there's nothing out there I can use as a marker... Too bad, I was hoping for a good swim."

I hold back a snort, these two had such contrasting priorities. Even their swimsuits stood out for completely different reasons, I was glad that Minako was kind enough to buy me plain navy trunks with a large silver stripes on each side, compared to the bright tropical red trunks that Junpei was wearing. They were a little too bright for me.

"You must be... Wh-what's with that swimsuit!?" it seemed like the other finally realized the senoir's attire. His shocked face was a little exaggerated but was admittedly hilarious to see.

"What about it?"

"Dude, speedos...? That tight fit's nasty, man!"

"It would be surprising if he didn't wear those." I scoff, still astonished by how Sanada was still thinking about training, even when it came down to swim trunks. I roll my eyes, facing only Junpei, "It'll let you swim faster."

"Hey!" someone tackles me from behind, with their face rubbing lightly on my back. I could feel the slimy and waxiness of some sort of lotion rub off on my skin, it was probably sunscreen. "I bet you didn't put sunscreen on, did you?"

I tense up, not wanting to answer my twin sister and feeling frozen by her cold cheeks on my warmed skin.

"You better put some on then!" I jump from a cool bottle being jabbed lightly at my ribs, begrudgingly I take it. I hate putting the

"Hey Junpei, what's the matter? You look dumber than usual."

"Pf, Yuka-tan you shouldn't be so mean," the cool cheek and arms move away from, leaving only my sister's laughing fall on my skin. "But yeah, Jun-chan you look a little out of it, something wrong?"

"Maaaaan, talk about a feast for the eyes!" I groan over Junpei's laughing, he just couldn't help himself, could he.

"Yuka-tan's wearing a more aggressive model than I had imagined!" I could practically feel and hear the leering grin on his face, "Could her boldness come from the confidence that her club training has toned her bod!?"

I let out another whining groan, this was getting ridiculous.

"And check out our second leader! She's one cute mermaid herself!" I twitch this time, "Those curves she usually keeps covered up are lookin' good! I can't tear my eyes away!"

"...How about I help you with that." my voice was in a low growl, I knew he was joking but still. I let out a huff, finally turn around, seeing what he was gawking and drooling about. Yukari was wearing a teal-lined pink bikini with short-cut blue jeans and sunglasses that sat on top her head like a hairband.

And I have to fight off a bright-red blush, staring at Minako and how revealing her pink spotted bikini was, the frills and bow on the top were cut lowly yet it looked fitting on her. The white pale skin that rarely saw sun was lightly glossed over with sunscreen and just about every part of her was framed perfectly.

I had to admit she looked stunning.

"Now, now Ni-chan," Minako smiled bright to me before lightly giggling, "Thanks, Jun-chan!"

"Maaaan, the beach is so great, I love this place!"

"Is that umbrella taken?"

"W-Wow! Fuu-chi, you look adorable!" sis jumps on her feet, moving over to Fuuka that was wearing a two piece that was a pale gray-blue. To me it really just looked like a short tank-top and skirt that matched, but it really was cute on the girl.

"...Wow, Fuuka, I had no idea you were so..." my eyes narrow loosely at Junpei, the other was walking in a mine field. "I mean, you should wear a swimsuit more often!"

"Huh...?" the girl flusters quickly covering up her bare stomach and legs with her arms, letting out a tiny squeak that my jostle at how cute the sound was. Sis of course, went and gave the girl a warm hug; affectionately nuzzling her cheek with the other's.

"Oh come on, there's nothing to be embarrassed about!" I sigh, giving up on Junpei when he let out a shivering laugh. The pervert.

"Stop that creepy laugh, you perv!"

More footsteps sound soft and roughly through the sand, it must have been Kirijo. She was the only one left that wasn't here.

"And here's our final contestant..." Junpei's face freezes, his eyes are wide and there's a wide blush on his face. Curiously I look over to where the footsteps sounded, seeing exactly what caused him to make a face like that.

_"Wow..."_ I was absolutely stunned by the red-head's beauty. Wearing a bright white fabric two piece that was accented with a tropical red flower that rested just above the left side of her chest and a simple clean cloth was wrapped around her waist like a skirt.

"Wow, Mit-nee! You're gorgeous!" Minako swings Fuuka with her closer to Kirijo, marveling at the senior with glimmering eyes.

"Yeah, your skin is flawless! Did you already put on sunscreen?" Yukari joins the two, looking at over her with a flustered gaze.

I'm nudged lightly in the commotion, I make a low growl to Junpei as I squeezed a bit of sunscreen into my hand rubbing it lightly on my arm first.

"Minato, Minato," I raise an eye to the other, giving him a look. "So... Which one's your type?"

My face scowls at him, _"Not this again."_

*"*"*

"N-no... not yet..." the senoir's red flowing hair look like it was burning fire in the sunlight, but it was the kind of fire that was small and like a smooth candle-light. Mit-nee was stunningly beautiful, from head to toe, even before I saw her the first time I was overwhelmed by the other's majestic beauty.

Really she was like a queen.

"Huh!? Really!?" my head perks curiously back behind me, hearing Jun-chan's rather loud gasp with a bemused grin on his face."Maaaan, really? No, joke?"

"Junpei, _shut up._" I recoil a bit at how icy Minato's voice was but I was really surprised when his face was dyed red and paled.

_"I wonder what they were talking about?"_

"Hey! What are you two talking about?" I skip over to them, leaving the girl talk behind me. Only to scowl when I see brother's arm was the only thing that shined with sunscreen. "...Ni-chan, give me that." I take the bottle of lotion away, pouting a bit at him. "Here I'll do it, it'll be easier that way right?"

My smile falters a bit when Jun-chan seems to leer a grin my way again.

"Man, I bet _you're_ in heaven!" he laughs, poking at brother who seems to panic for a moment on his feet and glares daggers at Jun-chan; I could feel his glare even from his side. "H-how 'bout a swim!?"

He shoots his arms up in the air, flashing a wide grin.

"Buh buh buh bump ba baaa! Charge!" the other runs happily over to the seashore, kicking his sandal off in the process that were thrown around on the beach sand.

"Whoa! I'm not letting you win that easily!" I giggle when Aki-nii runs after him.

I take a sharp soundless breath in, feeling a pang in my chest. Noise muddled up inside my head, some kind of forewarning to me and I could feel a cold chill go down my spine making me shiver with anxiety.

It felt like there were eyes watching me, and it felt like they were glaring at me with malice and hate.

"Nee-san...?" a sun-warmed hand brushes on my cheeks, shaking me out of dreadful sensation just then. "Is something wrong...?"

"N-no," I swallow a bit, still anxious and at bay with the voices' chattering inside my mind, "It's nothing."

I could tell he didn't believe me.

"Okay! Turn around so I can put some sunscreen on you! Wouldn't want to get seasick AND sunburned in the same day!" I giggle a little, putting up a charade of comfort and cheeriness.

Wishing deeply that this worry would disappear soon and nothing will happen.


	22. Forthcoming in Yakushima

I don't really like how I needed to slice Yakushima trip in three times, but I think it's better this way. (This chapter is so long... Over, 5 000 words I-)

But please do enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 22: Forthcoming in Yakushima  
**

7/20

"I wonder what, um, Kirijo-san needs...?" I fidget nervously clinging onto brother's arm while we were seated on one of the golden-yellow couches in the many rooms. Again the room was filled with a sullen silence that hung heavily on my shoulders, no it was weighing down on everyone in the room.

_"Just when everything was going back to normal..."_

We all tense up when Kirijo-san walks into the room, with a stern expression and nothing but that in his eye.

"From what I understand, Mitsuru has already given you the short version."

I freeze up completely, they were bringing up that incident again. Nervously I grip onto Minato's arm, burying my body closely to him and my eyes were fixated on Yukari.

"Oh, yes..." Yukari seemed to be normal but her voice stuttered enough to show how anxious she was right now.

"Well, it's true... We adults are to blame." the man scowls full of regret, "If I could've atoned for it with my life, I would have done so... Now, I have no choice but to rely on you."

My face buries into brother's shoulder, trying to stay calm.

"What my father wanted to do with those monsters' power... was a time manipulation device."

"That's what he was trying to do?" Mit-nee's voice whispers in, it was genuinely surprised and shocked. I shut my eyes tightly, nuzzling my face even more into brother's sleeve.

"Imagine, if you could control the flow of time... Eliminate unwanted events before they occur."

I felt brother's whole body flinch, I knew why, he was thinking about that night.

About our parents.

"With such a device you could shape the future to your liking."

"...How stupid." my ears could hear his chest growl and beat softly.

"However, under my father's direction, the research began to stray from its original goal," Kirijo-san's voice sounded disgusted and again there was a that ringing of heavy guilt in his voice. "In his later years, my father seemed to have only nihilism in his heart."

My own heart thumped loudly in my ears.

"Now that I think about it, his madness may have resulted from his struggle to break free from that..." the man pauses, "It's only natural that you want to know the truth and it my duty to tell you."

A loud click and hum of a machine runs through the room, making me peek out to see the room was now dark and lit by a large monitor in the room. It sounded with loud static and the image was unclear.

I could feel dread start pumping in my veins.

"This is the only existing footage of the accident, recorded by a scientist who was at the scene."

The feeling only got stronger as the static grew louder, accompanied by a man's voice and blurred body.

"_-I pray that this recording reaches safe hands...-_"

"That voice...!?" Yukari jumps up in her seat, her eyes were wide with shock and her attention was focused completely on the screen.

Again my heart was swaying with fear.

"_-My employer has become obsessed with a loathsome idea, this experiment should have never even been conceived...-_" the screen chokes up with a large amount of static images and sounds, "_-I'm afraid what I've done will result in an unprecedented disaster, but if I hadn't the entire world may have paid the price.-_"

I could hear everyone else suck everything in, Fuuka quietly let out a whispered gasp, "The entire world?"

"_-Please listen carefully, the shadows that were amassed here have been dispersed as a result of the explosion.-_" the static grow higher again but the screen seemed to get clearer, "_-To end this nightmare, you must eliminate all of them! I am to blame for this, I knew the risks but I was blinded by the promise of success. And so I didn't raise any objections.-_"

The man becomes completely visible, a tired-looking man who wore a blackened collared shirt and blue tie with brown hair that was cut into a bobbed-like style. His eyes looked hollow and full of agony, of absolute despair.

"_-It is all my fault...-_"

Yukari makes a even louder gasp compared to her previous one just moments ago. As loud explosion cuts the video off from showing anymore, the booming sound made my ears ring and my body wince.

"...Dad." My eyes dart to Yukari, my lungs couldn't breath and my lips were dry. The feeling of dread was swarming in my body now, this must have been why. The brunette was completely still and silent, her eyes were glaring hard at the ground and lips were pursed tightly.

"His name was Eiichiro Takeba, he was the head researcher at the time and a very talented man." Kirijo-san's voice continues as the lights turn back on, making my eyes water trying to adjust to the sudden light, but they were glued on Yukari with concern. "But we are the ones who are responsible, we pushed him to continue the research. The Kirijo group is to blame for his death."

I could hear everyone else's gasps, except Yukari. Her body was still frozen and her eyes were completely blank, terrifying me.

"So, that means..." her eyes stare forward, "My dad caused it all...? The dark hour, Tartarus, the people who died in that incident..."

My chest tightened and my fingers were trembling.

"It was all his fault...?" her eyes were on the verge of tears.

"Y-You okay?" Aki-nii sounded stiff, but it seemed like his voice didn't reach her.

"So, that's why you were hiding this...?" her expression twists into a rage, "Because you felt sorry for me!? Is that it!?"

I flinch at how her voice rose, I was nearing my limit and just wanted to cry and block everything out. Just grip onto brother's arms and let him cradle me like he did back when I was trapped in that white room.

That empty space that echoed with pity and disdainful eyes.

"No, Takeba, I...!" Mit-nee's voice rung in my ears, it was loud and didn't sound anything like her.

"I don't want your pity!" the brunette runs out the door, with a red face and beaten eyes.

"Y-Yukari!" my feet jump up, slipping away from brother and run after her. "W-wait!"

x

"Yukari..." my hands clench at my chest, seeing the girl standing in the moonlight at the beach. It was beautiful but hurt to look, my vision was still blurry from the few tears that leaked out of my red-eyes.

The other turns to me, "Minako..."

We both held an awkward silence to each other, unsure of what to say but I take a deep breath, trying my best to find courage inside.

"Y-you know," my eyes stung, "Ni-chan, Minato, before would get into a lot of fights... He would start doing really bad things, like stealing and hurting people..."

She doesn't respond.

"I-It, it really hurt a lot to see," I nibbled on my lips lightly, "I would be waiting in the hospital for the boy I was told is my 'twin brother', my only family left visit me looking half-dead. It was terrifying to see him always bandaged up and so weak-looking..."

She still didn't respond.

"It was around then, I had nightmares every night," my breaths were short and hazy, "I would stare at two corpses on the ground, drowning in a pool of blood, mangled by some kind of monster..."

I make a dry chuckle, filling in the silence.

"I never r-really told anyone this but, the two bodies on the ground... Me and Minato."

The other flinches slightly.

"But what I mean to say is that, I'm not really sure what it's like to have parents... You know?" my lips curve into a weak smile, "B-but, I'm sure your father loved you even-"

"Stop acting like you know all the answers!" I bite back my tongue when she yells loudly at me, making me shake and my throat close. "I, I believed in him for so long, this is too much."

Her body shakes, with agony and her cheeks are soaked with salty tears.

"My dad, he died in that incident." she swallows, like there was a large lump stuck in her throat. "Nobody knew the truth, so there were all sorts of rumors... Because he was in charge of the research team, people were really mean to me and my mom..."

"Y-Yukari..." my voice is practically silent, a choked whisper that was muffled by the wind and the girl's light sobs.

"We even had to move a few times," her face twists with grief, "But all this time, I kept telling myself it wasn't his fault. I loved him a lot, and I believed he'd never do anything wrong."

A hand raised up to rub one eye.

"I received a letter back in spring, it was from him, written ten years ago," her smile was wry and weak, "It cracked me up cuz, even though it said 'To my family,' it was pretty much all about me..."

My hands were clutched tightly in my shirt, feeling at my racing heart.

"That only made me believe in him more." her lips purse together, trying to hold back another sob, "I was scared, but I thought if I cooperated with the Kirijo group, I might find out what really happened. That's why I agreed to fight using my persona, but it turns out... All of that was for nothing..."

"T-That's not true...!" my voice sounded raspy in my ears, my lips were just as shaky as my fingers were. "T-that video, he, he saved people! He spared the world, no, he did what he thought was right... To protect you...! The entire world, is..."

"What would you know!? You're not alone like I am!" my tears finally leak out, and my teeth clench hard on my lips. Watching Yukari slowly weep into a mess, "I tried so hard to fight my fear, and this is what I get..."

"Maybe I'm just jealous of Mitsuru-senpai, I mean... Why my father and not hers?"

My shoulders stiffen at her confession, my fingers clench harder in my shirt. Watching her let out a dry laugh through choked tears.

"I'm a horrible person aren't I?"

I wanted to disagree, her envy wasn't horrible. It was just human, even I... _"Even I'm envious of Ni-chan..."_

"I'm sorry... My head's a mess, I'm so afraid..." my feet shuffle a little closer to her, "I don't know what to do anymore, I'm totally lost..."

Hesitantly my hands slowly move to lightly touch her shoulders, it was hard to watch her cry her eyes out like this. So I give her my brightest smile I could manage through my own wet tears, "Believe in your dad."

"You mean, keep believing...?" I nod to her with a warm smile, gazing softly at her as she rubs her brown eyes of her last sobbing. "...I'm sorry, for acting like this, you've lost your parents too."

I shake my head, ignoring the tightening pain in my chest.

"...Thanks."

Her voice was weak and her eyes were all puffed up from finally crying out everything, she was going to be alright. I felt myself ease from the thought alone, making my smile feel brighter.

"Hey!" we both jump at the sound of footsteps running through the sand, turning around we see Jun-chan. His face was red and he was panting from being out of breath, "Sheesh, what's taking you so long...? Everybody's... waiting..."

The looming sadness felt like it was melting away, letting me finally breathe and let out a joyful giggle.

"It's almost..." he gasps loudly for air, "The dark hour, so you should get back."

"O-oh right, it is pretty late now that I think about it, aha..." I tease my hair lightly with my fingers, "But gosh, Jun-chan how hard did you run...?"

I think for a moment before grinning at him.

"You'd think after all the experience in the dark hour, you could run a marathon."

"H-hey...!" he huffs with a red blush, "I-I was worried you know!"

I let out a healthy and happy laugh, it felt warm and bright despite being so late and chilly.

"You know, I've been thinking lately..." Yukari's eyes seemed to smile but they were still sad, making my laughs cease with the wind. Getting both my and Jun-chan's attentions, "Once you awaken to the power of persona, you remember everything that happens during the dark hour... It's like trading away your innocence..."

I stare at her, keeping my gaze soft and steady over her expression.

"In exchange for power, you can no longer look away from the things you don't want to see." she pauses, looking between me and Jun-chan before a light smile curves up on her lips. "So, I guess I'm stuck with you guys, huh?"

"Yup." I smile with Jun-chan as he answers swiftly for the both of us, "Now that that's settled, let's head back!"

"Mm-!" I slip an arm through each of my friends' arms, hooking us all together as we all walk back much more happier than we started.

Then, I felt something stir again, my fingers flinch at a strange ominous feeling. As though someone was glaring at me with hate and alarm, quickly I shake it away and drag Yukari and Jun-chan a little bit faster back inside.

It was probably just my imagination.

x

*"*"*

7/21

I let out another groan, feeling extremely tired and still annoyed of what happened last night. The way Yukari had snapped made me bite my lips hard enough to draw blood, I was unsure how to talk to the other right now so maybe I was glad that none of the girls were here on the beach just yet.

"Dude, what's with you?" my eyes are narrowed and tempted to glare at Junpei as he leans over to me, "Come on! The ocean's not gonna sit around and wait for us, ya know!"

_"...It's the ocean..."_ the other's excitement was over-exaggerated, but it was amusing to see. Making me feel a bit lighter and enough to let a small smile on my lips.

"You're right, once the sun sets, the water temperature drops. Tiring you out much faster." I cover up a snort when Sanada starts, a true muscle-head.

He had brains, only when it came to brawn from what I've seen.

"That reminds me, one of the maids gave me a letter as we were leaving..." I nearly let out a snicker seeing Junpei snatch the letter out of the other's hands. "Whoa, hey, Junpei!"

"No buts! I ain't letting any love letters from a lovely maid slip through my fingers!" again it was hard not to laugh at the other's antics, "Uhh, let's see here..."

He flips open the letter, grinning happily in bliss.

"This says, 'We've gone to see the Jymon-Cedar Tree.'..." he grin slowly falls in disappointment, "...Huh!?"

"It looks like Fuuka's handwriting..." Sanada peers over to the letter, and I join too. Seeing that there was neat and clean writing, with a light doodle of a cat on the bottom; Minako's handy work.

I titter back my laughter.

"Aw man, we're at an island resort in the middle of summer! Why don't they go to the beach!?" incredibly difficult not to laugh at how Junpei was practically heart broken by this, "That's just not right!"

"Well, it is your fault." I snicker at Sanada's remark, seeing it quite true.

"Whaddya mean? I-I just wanted to lighten up the mood..."

"Sure, you did Junpei." I raise my arms up to stretch some of my weary out.

"W-Well doesn't matter anyway! We're on our own now, just the guys!" he snaps a fist with puzzling pride, "If you're out of ammo, you pick it up on the battlefield! That's one of the most basic military tactics!"

"W-what...?" my eyes are perplexed, just what was he going on about, bringing up military tactics?

"We'll call this Operation Babe Hunt!"

I splutter.

" 'Babe Hunt'...?" I see Sanada looking at Junpei with a questioning look, "You mean, like, pick up girls...?"

"Whaddya think, Akihiko-san? With you on the squad, we're guaranteed to succeed!"

"Have fun with that," I scrunch up my face, quickly trying to escape. "Too much of hassle for me."

"H-hey, don't be like that man! Come on, show some spirit!" Junpei leers in, trapping me, "Unless you're scared you're gonna lose?"

My eyes glare at him, "Nice try, but not falling for that-"

"Hey, I'm not judging you. Most guys would rather back down than lose."

I twitch, seeing him grin a little to close for comfort.

"How about we have a prize for the winner that scores the most then?"

I scoff, giving in but not without a bit more fight making a sinister smirk on my face. "Then, the loser buys dinner at Hagakura."

"Loser? Whaddya mean loser?" the shock on Junpei's face was priceless, "Wait, we're gonna go hit on them separately!?"

"Good luck," I sneer at him, "Oh _mister_ popular."

*"*"*

"U-um, so..." I fumble with my fingers, staring at everyone nervously. "I-I wonder what this anti-shadow weapons looks like..."

"W-well, I guess it would be strong and big right?" Fuuka joins next to me, she's looking at Mit-nee and Yukari.

Both were armed with their weapons, which I still couldn't believe they brought with them.

_"How do people even sneak weapons around like this anyway..."_

I shake my head, "I-I wonder how the guys are doing...?"

My awkward laugh was the only thing that filled in the void of silence that lingered in the forest.

*"*"*

"There's a woman all alone..."

"You know I seriously thought both of you would've stopped by now, especially you Sanada..." I huff, feeling beyond exhausted just watching the two fail miserably with their awkward approaches to hit on some of the women on the beach. The last one was more than enough for me to make note, never to do this again. The way that elder lady's face trembled at being called 'grandma' was absolutely terrifying.

"I was joking about the loser buying dinner, ugh..."

_"Not to mention all we've been doing is clustering together..."_

"Dude, I can feel success in the air this time!"

Junpei was a lost case, I sigh, shaking my head at the two as they go up to the woman who was sitting on a yellow beach-chair.

"Excuse me, miss!"

"Hello! Can I help you?" the woman was rather pretty, she had long chocolate-colored hair and eyes but I still felt like this wouldn't end well. I could see a light blush erupt on Junpei face, making me cough over my chuckle.

"Uhh... Are you alone?"

"Yeah. I'm so bored." the other smiles at us, "And, I'd been spying on you. You've been trying to pick up girls for a while."

I chuckle to this, "And been failing rather hilariously."

"Haha, that's what I thought." her smile stays up, "You guys don't understand women at all."

"Uh..." Junpei takes a step back, as her gaze fixes on him. "Oops...?"

"You in the hat, you're way too wrapped up in yourself. You don't think about doing anything for the GIRL to make HER feel special."

I flinch at her words, she sounded quite frustrated.

"You in the T-shirt, you're the stoic type, but not very experienced around girls." that was dead-on about Sanada, it was incredible how she managed to read us so far just from spying on us for a bit. "Or rather, you seem like someone who's too much of a hassle to be with. Like, you're super-logical about everything."

Again spot-on.

"And you with the long hair..." she looks at me next, "I'm not sure about you..."

"Hey, don't hold back now." I joke, seeing as I hadn't actually hit on anyone yet. Only standing watching the other two make idiots of themselves and stay ready to bail them out if they, mostly Junpei, did something wrong.

"Haha," she laughs at that, "I mean, you're mysterious. You've got that whole 'androgeny' thing going on. You know what I mean?"

I splutter, "W-what, no...!"

Did I really seem like that?

"Wow, you're pretty innocent." my fingers twitch when the woman smiles deviously, "Mm-hmm, I think you're my type."

"N-not interested, sorry." it felt like all the blood in my body drained out of me.

"Juuust joking..." she giggles to my relief, only to make me shiver when she leer back with another smirk on her lips. Staring all all of us with hungry-looking eyes. "I like you a lot, too..."

"R-Really!?" my eyes dart at Junpei, he was in a flustered state again.

"Do you want me to teach you..." the other's voice made me break out into goosebumps, "How to make ME feel special...?"

"Aha," I cut in, "Sorry, but we're still minors."

"Aw, dude don't ruin the fun...!"

My throat growls at Junpei when he tries to keep this going, thankfully Sanada joins in and hopefully helps.

"...There's something that's been bothering for a while..."

"Yes, what is it?"

I knee Junpei lightly in the stomach, holding his arms up with my hands. Ignoring his grunt of pain and watching Sanada curiously as he thought with a rather paler-looking face than usual.

"It's just..." his eyes stare dead-on the woman's face, "Th-there's something on your chin there..."

"What? What?" the other rubs her hand over her chin, feeling around. "Did I miss a spot?"

I silently choke back my words, gripping hard onto Junpei's wrists. Taken completely by surprise, I did not see that coming.

"A-Are... you..." Sanada seemed just as shocked, watching with me as the 'woman' stood up letting out a loud sigh.

"There goes my chance, I was so close to snagging myself a little boy-toy."

Involuntarily my body shivers and shakes at how quickly the other's tone changed, she, he, I wasn't sure what to use but the other was frighteningly good at acting so natural.

_"No wonder she called me 'androgeny'..."_

"Maybe it was too early for you boys, anyway." the dark brunette let out a shivering giggle, "Come see me when you're ready to have your horizons broadened."

_"I'm just going to stay with Nee-san, safest choice is best choice..."_ I finally remember to breath again when the other leaves.

"That was the worst experience in my life..." I pause, "Actually never mind, that was just really awkward but we're never, and I mean _never_ doing shit like this again."

I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to get rid of a growing headache that whined in my ears.

"Whaddya mean 'we'!? You didn't even try to score with a..." Junpei's words are cut off, and his voice dies out with a short gasp.

"What's up? You see something...?"

Both Sanada and my eyes follow Junpei's gaze, seeing a slim girl standing at on the dock staring out to the ocean.

She looked around our age with short-blonde hair, something that looked like a strange head-band or headset with a wheel-like design, a tight white collared that covered up part of her chin and her entire neck which seemed to nearly blend with her pale skin. She wore a light baby-blue dress that had white-yellow frilly laces, what caught my attention the most was how her eyes looked practically like glass.

Lifeless.

A sense a familiarity filled my chest, but at the same I felt as though I was frozen on spot.

"Whoa..." Junpei kicks me back into reality, "Talk about saving best for last...! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

"I agree..."

"This is our last chance to make up for our failures..." Junpei looks absolutely ecstatic with a fiery hope lit in his eyes, "But this time we should try one-by-one instead of all together, we'll have a better shot that way."

"Sounds like a good plan."

I groan at the two, they were still going at this.

"Alright, then let's decide the order! We'll go clockwise, starting with the winner." he holds out his fist, "Ready...? Rock, paper, sissors!"

I quickly hold out my fist, partly confused as to why I was being dragged in again.

Thankfully I lost.

"Yeah, I win!" Junpei jumps up into the air, with a wide grin on his face, "Okay, I'll go first, Akihiko-san will go second and you'll go last."

"B-but I don't even want to-" my voice is overlapped by Junpei's glee.

"I'm up! Wish me luck!" he runs over to the blonde girl, with a huge red flush on his face.

"...Ugh, I give up." I decide to just watch and see how messy things get.

"H-hey, h-how's it going?" Junpei's stutter was hilarious, "I noticed you've been, uh, staring at the ocean. So, um... do you come here often?"

He was doing dreadfully terrible, but the girl was looking at him.

"My name's Ju-Ju-Junpei."

"...Ju-Ju-Junpei?" her voice from here sounded a bit monotonous, it was probably cause we were further away from them.

"Don't worry, I-I just want to talk." he rubs the back of his neck nervously, "I mean, it's more fun than standing here all by yourself, isn't it?"

The girl doesn't seem to change her expression, staying practically emotionless.

"...I am looking for a human."

I raise an eye, that was a strange way to word it.

"O-Oh yeah...?"

"You are not the one." the girl turns back to the ocean, leaving Junpei in complete shock, as he quietly retreats back.

"Wow, he got shot down faster than I expected..." I nod a bit in agreement with the senoir, but there was something about that girl that didn't sit right with me.

"Sh-she's a tough one, senpai..." Junpei comes back with his shoulders slumped and slouched in defeat.

"Heh," Sanada smirks, his eyes looked like those of a predator. Truly a blood thirsty idiot to the end, "Don't worry about me."

He walks over to the girl with confidence on his back, once more I listen in on what they were saying.

"Well, hello there. Say, do you like the ocean?"

"Is your question directed at me?" again her sentence sounded strange.

"Oh, um, yeah. I like the ocean too." the silverette pauses to think, "Hey, I heard that triathletes who train at the beach perform better than those who practice indoors."

_"Who would seriously be interested about that at the beach..."_

"That type of information is irrelevant to me." the girl, once she spoke her words out turned away again. Giving Sanada the signal that she wasn't interested, and he walked away. Surprisingly there was still a smirk on his lips.

"Heh, I won..." I raise an eye at him, that clearly didn't look like he did, "I talked to her longer than you did."

"It doesn't matter how long you talked to her!" I jump at how angry and loud Junpei's voice was, before he let out a deep sigh. "This sucks..."

I tense seeing him start to tear up and make sobbing sounds.

"Hey, stop crying! You're making me feel bad..." I silently agreed with Sanada, but this was mostly uncomfortable and awkward to watch, really.

"...So, that's our status." he stops crying and grabs me abruptly by the shoulders, "If you can't pull this off, I'm going to be traumatized for the rest of my life."

"W-wait what-" the blood in my face drained, and I could feel myself break into a cold sweat. I did not like where this was going.

"We're on the ropes, but it's not over yet..." I flinch when I felt Sanada's eyes on me as well. "It's all up to you now."

_"Please don't treat this like your life is on the line..."_ is what I wanted to say, along with how stupid this was but when I felt their eyes on me... I couldn't bring myself to say no, it actually felt like their lives were in danger.

"O-Okay..." I let out a breathless sigh, swatting Junpei's hands off me and walking begrudgingly toward the blonde girl.

She was quite pretty, but something about her set me on edge. Though it was already too late to back out, I take a quick breath in.

"Can I talk to you?"

I jolt back a bit, at how fast she turned to face me. Her eyes were really like glass, but they were wide and gleaming at me with something.

"You are...!" her face was surprised and even her voice sounded it, not like how I overheard it moments ago when she spoke to Sanada and Junpei. I could hear footsteps come closer to us, and the girl opened her mouth again.

"Initiating evasive maneuver." her voice this time was like a robot, emotionless and devoid of life. "Confirmation must be made at a secure location..."

The next thing she does, knocks the air right out of me. Literally lifting me up by grabbing me and throwing me over her shoulder, she quickly runs off to the direction of the forest. Flustering me as she does, carrying me like I was lighter than a feather._  
_

"H-HEY...!" my hands swing and my legs sway, all my limbs could feel the girl's body.

Yet it felt so cold and her arms that was wrapped around my torso and legs, felt like I was being pressured and squeezed by something heavy.

_"Just who, no... Just what is this girl...?"_


	23. Fateful Meetings

Haha, triple updates in a row now. (Though granted it's taking a little while to get further in terms of days.)

I do hope you enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 23: Fateful Meetings  
**

7/21

"P-Put me down!" my voice was squeaky, I was panicked and a bit frightened by the fact the girl's limbs felt like iron or steel. Her hold on me was a literal example of an 'iron grip', which I was sure Minako would have laughed at then but this wasn't the time for jokes.

She finally puts me down, making my feet lose balance and I fall on the dirt. Watching her in awe and wary, just what was it that she wanted?

My chest tightens up, making my breath choke up. Seeing her take a step closer and kneeling closer to my face.

It wasn't the fact her face was so close, I was sure of it.

It was something about her face, that made feel like I've seen it somewhere before.

And it felt suffocating and hazy.

Almost like I wasn't suppose to remember who this was.

"I was correct..." she cups my faces with cold hands that felt like ice, "I have found you."

The next thing she does is throw her arms around my neck, giving me a cold hug that made me shiver uncomfortably.

"W-What-" it felt like there were rusty pins in my throat.

"I have been searching for you." her voice is more hushed in my ear, "My highest priority is to be with you!"

*"*"*

"H-hello...?" I breathe in sharply, a little scared to be alone in the forest, "Y-Yuka-tan? Fuu-chi, Mit-nee!?"

I grip tightly on my shirt, over my chest, right above my heart. Seeking comfort from the noise that buzzed inside my head.

Something, something here made my heart flutter with dread and my stomach pivot with nausea. My eyes were beginning to swell with hot tears, I didn't like this feeling at all. I wished that it would go away.

"WHAT!?" my heart felt like it was going to burst, from either joy or being startled when I hear someone's voice shout loudly. It was Jun-chan. "I can't believe this!"

My feet quickly rush over towards where I hear his voice, I felt tears run down with relief in my eyes.

"Th-thank god, I was..." my voice freezes, and my eyes widen. Seeing brother on the ground with a blonde girl with her arms wrapped around him. "N-Ni-chan...!?"

Something stung hard in my heart, I rush over to the two trying to pull the blonde away from him. I didn't understand what this feeling was that swarmed inside me, but it made me want to keep this girl away from Minato.

"L-Let go of him...!" my fingers felt cold and the girl's arms felt stiff, inhuman. It felt useless and futile for me to even try to pry her arms off him.

Footsteps come closer, but my hands and eyes are still focused on the blonde girl.

"There you are, Ko-chan..." I still don't turn even hearing Yukari's voice, "Huh!? Minato, Junpei!?"

The girl finally lets go, looking at me with crystal clear-blue eyes. I flinch back, feeling like her eyes were pointed blades at me. The look in her eyes was scary, looking at at me with cautious eyes and glaring disdain towards me.

"You..." her voice was emotionless, unlike Minato's it felt like that was her true voice not some kind of facade to hide in. "You, are no good... Dangerous..."

"E-eh..." the way she was looming at me, made my spine shiver and the buzzing voices inside ceased, going silent, from the girl's appearance and words.

"You must stay away from him..." her voice was at a soft whisper and her arms were held in front of brother, like a barricade that stood in between us. Again there was that heavy feeling of eyes on me.

"You have no idea what we've-" Yukari's voice hushes silent and she moves to tap me lightly on the shoulder, whispering in my ear. "Who's that? And... why is she looking at you like that?"

I wish I knew, but something about her made me feel terrified.

"Nee-san, um, what's going on...?" my eyes twirl back to brother, he was brushing off his trunks of dirt.

I would, and should had answered him but I was more concerned by the girl and why they were alone in the woods, despite brother wearing just his swimsuit.

"Listen, we've encountered a problem." Mit-nee seemed to have arrive along with Fuuka, but the blonde girl still hadn't budged. "I'm sorry to interrupt your vacation, but I need you all to go back to the house and prepare for battle."

"That won't be necessary," more footsteps come by us, "We've found what we were looking for."

Even Ikutsuki-san's appearance didn't make the girl's eyes falter at me, she only takes a step back, closer to brother.

"You had my worried," the man lets out a loud sigh, walking past me and towards the blonde, "You don't have permission to leave the lab on your own Aigis."

_"Aigis...?"_ I wondered for a moment, my eyes were still locked on with her glassy ones. _"Is she...?"_

"...I know." her voice isn't hushed anymore, but her body was still acting as a wall between brother and me.

The uneasy in my heart only grew, watching her grab onto brother again. It felt like she was going to take him away from me, making something in my chest boil and heat up painfully.

I didn't like this feeling at all.

x

*"*"*

"Let go." this was irritating, annoying. The girl, or rather what looked to be a girl was latched on my arm. She no longer wore the blue dress that covered her limbs, instead she wore a cream-colored suit and red ribbon was tied around her neck. The outfit showed her mechanical joints and other metal robotic parts, like her feet and hands that had rings of gold on the tips.

I growl when Ikutsuki seems to laugh.

"This is Aigis, as you can see, she's a mechanical maiden."

I could see Minako shift uncomfortably across from us, this 'Aigis' seemed to detest her for some reason.

Something about her being 'dangerous', which was stupid in my opinion, the former seemed more dangerous to me. Seeing how she lifted and carried me with ease, even more so that she was a robot.

"I am Aigis, my mission is to destroy shadows." the girl, stands up, looking to everyone carefully. Her eyes were glassy and lifeless, it was bone-chilling to see them stare at me again. "I have been assigned to SEES, effective immediately."

I flinch, that meant she was going to come back with us then and she was going to fight with us.

"No way..." I see Yukari gasp up staring closely at the blonde, "It's like she's... alive."

"This is unbelievable..." Sanada joins her observations.

"She's so cute..." I felt like smacking myself, seeing Junpei start gushing again, "But... She's a robot."

"U-um, I-Ikutsuki-san, so A-Aigis-san is a robot...?" Minako's eyes glance to me, worry and something else that I couldn't recognize was laced in her red irises. "A-An anti-shadow weapon...?"

_"A what?"_

"That's right, anti-shadow weapons were created ten years ago to combat uncontrollable shadows." I flinch a bit, this was getting too surreal. "Aigis was the last one to be made, and she's the only one that still remains today."

"U-um, if she... F-fights with shadows does that mean..." blood red orbs glance at the robot, nibbling on her lips.

My shoulders stiffen, following up on my sister's words, "Persona-can she-"

"Yes," the girl turns to be again, sitting down next to me with her eyes locked on me, "I am capable of operating the persona 'Palladion'"

"She suffered major damage in combat and has remained in the lab ever since." Ikutsuki speaks up again, patting Minako on the shoulder. Urging me to just rip her away from him. "It's still unclear as to why she suddenly reactivated herself this morning... Well I hope you get along."

That was easier said than done, seeing how hostile Minako and this Aigis were to each other right now.

"U-Um... A-Aigis-san," speaking of which, the two are instantly staring knives at each other as Minako addresses her. "When we first saw you, you were h-hugging Ni-chan... W-why...?"

"Y-yeah, I was wondering about that too... Do you know him?" Yukari shifts a little back, I think if I had a choice I rather deal with her than this.

At least I could deal with the one-sided awkwardness, rather than this heavy one.

"Yes," my arm flinches when the girl scoots closer to me, feeling the cold metal of her arm, "It is very important for me to be by his side."

"E-eh..." the eyes stare at me, with worry and questions.

I could only answer with my own worry and puzzlement.

"Hmm, perhaps her identification system is malfunctioning..." I nearly let out a snarl seeing Ikutsuki's amusement, "Or maybe she's still half asleep... This is quite interesting."

"I don't think it's that..." I really felt like being stuck with Yukari more than being stuck in the crossfire of glares. It was a little unsettling how spiteful sis' eyes were, I was sure she didn't even realize she was glaring to begin with, with the way her brows with knitted in worry.

Hopefully this wouldn't last.

x

*"*"*

7/22

"Aren't you going to join them?" my head turns, seeing a man in a tan-brown suit.I was both perplexed and amazed, at how Ikutsuki-san was able to wear all those layers despite this heat.

"I-In a bit..." I smile weakly, "A-Aigis-san really doesn't like me..."

"Now now," he smiles at me warmly giving me a light pat on my arm, "We've been quite busy during our time here, but it looks as if we can relax a bit today and I'm sure Aigis will warm up to you in no time."

"I hope so..." I bite back my frown, trying to not think about how persistent she was to keep Minato and me apart. It made me feel lonely, and it pained me, every time I couldn't fight back for brother.

Whenever I looked into the girl's eyes, I felt my chest tighten and my eyes sting. Making feel stiff as a rock and colder than winter's chill.

"I've already told you what time the ship will be arriving tomorrow, yes?" I nod to him, "I'll most likely head over to the port early, so don't be late."

"Mm hmm," my smile felt a little lighter, "I'll remind everyone later for sure."

"Alright then," he smile with a chuckle, patting me on my head lightly, "Be sure to have fun, alright?"

I could feel myself feel a little better, _"Ikutsuki-san is sure nice..."_

"Hey Ko-tan! Come on!" I perk up some more hearing, Jun-chan call out to me from the seashore.

"Coming!" my feet quickly kick off my sandals, running over to where everyone was having some sort of water fight. It was dazzling to see and felt so warm.

"Aigis wait! That's not what 'water gun' means!" I snort when Jun-chan falls back in the sea, getting mouthfuls of the salty water. "Aaaaack!"

"Junpei-kun is down!" Fuuka's giggles made my ear ring pleasantly, along with Yukari's cheerful laughter.

"Alright, here's our chance for an All-Out Attack!"

I laugh hard enough to make my stomach hurt, seeing water be splashed with no mercy at Junpei.

My heart was filled with content joy, and I could wish for the day to never end.

x

7/23

"Ugh," I shifted uncomfortably, watching brother growl with a glaring anger at Aigis. "Just what do you think lets you decide she's 'dangerous'!?"

The air was tense, especially when I could feel dagger-like eyes that bore right through my heart with hate.

"You must not stay together." her voice made me shiver, "It is... Dangerous."

"Like I just said, what lets you-"

"N-Ni-chan...!" I can't step closer to him, with the way Aigis stared at me. It felt like her eyes glued me on spot, "Ni-chan, um..."

I was going to regret what I was saying.

"I-It's fine..."

It wasn't.

"W-We're just going to be in separate rooms..."

I didn't like this, I didn't want this.

"B-Besides, it's time for me to g-grow up anyway...!" I weakly pat over my chest, trying to huff out the meager amount of courage I could squeeze out, "A-And I haven't had any nightmares since we got here!"

I saw it once.

"S-So please don't g-give Aigis-san such a hard time..." I smile at best I could with my wobbly lips, "T-There's a free room on the third room right...?"

I hold my pleading eyes back behind my eyelids, covering up my feelings with a smile.

"Y-Yes, but..." Mit-nee's voice seemed to worry and a bit panicked being at a loss at what to do.

"Then it's settled!" I smile brightly, with a false face I look to everyone as brightly as possible, "I'll sleep in a separate room, starting... U-um, actually could I start tomorrow... When I set everything up... Is that alright, A-Aigis-san?"

I could see brother's silver eyes stare at me, doubtful and seeing through my act.

"I'll be okay, I swear." I lie through my teeth.

x

*"*"*

7/24

"Good morning! Please wake up." I shoot up hearing someone's voice call me up, there shouldn't be anyone in the room other than me now. After Aigis, that robot forcing Minako to sleep in a separate room. Thankfully one of the girls let her sleep in their room for the night, but just who was this.

Aigis, I should have figured it was the exact robotic girl that was the one who shook me awake.

"You've awakened safely, mission complete."

I rub my eyes I bit, checking if I was seeing things or not.

"M-Mission?"

"The paper on the wall says, 'Do things five minutes early.'" groggily I stare to the wall she was talking about, seeing a blue sticky note with the exact words written on it and a small cat doodle in the corner; Minako's handwriting. "Therefore, I woke you up five minutes prior to the triggering of your alarm clock."

I couldn't believe this, just why was this person, this 'weapon' so attached to me.

_"Actually the hell did she get in here...!?"_

A knock throws my thoughts out the window, this morning was honestly too loud for my likely.

"Hey, are you awake?" I groan when hearing Yukari's voice, this was getting ridiculous and annoying. "That girl disappeared, and we can't find her anywhere. Think you can help us out?"

I had a bad feeling about this.

"I am not a girl... I am Aigis," it could be laughable how robotic and strangely Aigis spoke, "And I am here."

"Huh...?" the door swings open, Yukari's face was baffled, "Aigis!? How did you-"

"He was asleep, so I unlocked the door."

I choke, _"She did what!?"_

"That's unlawful entry!" I looked at Yukari with bemused eyes, was that really the problem right now, "Didn't we tell you to stay in the command room at night!?"

"I propose to be on standby in this room from now on. Is this acceptable?"

My eyes twitch, first she kicks Minako out and now she wants to stay in this room?

"If there is a problem, then I will address it promptly."

I cough to clear my throat, "Th-the problem is it's against dorm regulations..."

That wasn't a lie, the only reason why Minako and I were allowed to stay together were cause of the conditions I set. Though they were practically useless thanks to her. I couldn't keep my eye on Minako during the night anymore, so I wouldn't know whether she had any night terrors and had troubles sleeping.

Not to mention I wouldn't be sure if that kid, Pharos would show up in her room. I bite my tongue back, it scowling spite.

"Ugh," the brunette scratches her head, "I'll have a room prepared for you on the third floor, so you can stay nearby."

She scowls at the blonde.

"Oh, and don't leave the dorm by yourself, okay?"

"I will do as commanded."

I groan with a growing headache, feeling more exhausted than seconds ago, I don't think I could manage every morning being like this.

x

*"*"*

_"I wonder why she hates me so much...?"_ I grumble a bit while walking through the strip mall with Yukari, still feeling a little sour about what happened last night. It was alright, as I stayed with Yukari for the night but still. It was a little scary to think about how I'll be sleeping by myself starting today, though it was a little easier to know I'd at least have Yuu with me.

"Oh, no! Where's my wallet!?" I jump when hearing Yukari fumble through her things, "D-Did I drop it!? But when...? I had it when I pulled out my ticket at the station..."

"Aah," I gasp a bit worried, "D-did you drop it when someone bumped into you...?"

She thinks for a moment with her eyes furrowed together, "Sorry, I'm gonna go back to the station and look around."

"I'll go with you." I smile a bit, at her, it would be faster with two people.

"Huh? That's okay, I mean, it's just over there." she waves her hands at me, turning on her heel towards the station, "Wait here, okay? I'll be right back!"

"U-Um, okay..." I walked to a nearby rail to lean against, watching Yukari run off to the station. I thought a bit longer about the feeling I got from looking at Aigis.

_"Is this fear...? But that doesn't make sense..."_ my face felt like it was scowling at the air, _"I've never met her before..."_

My heart stirs up again and I blink up, feeling eyes on me. People that walked by seemed to stare at me strangely, making me a little anxious for Yukari to come back soon.

"Speaking of Yukari..." I stared off toward the station, "What's taking her so long...?"

_"I wondered if something happened...? Maybe I should check up on her."_

I lean off the rail, jogging lightly over to the station.

Hopefully nothing happened.

The moment I thought that, I hear a man yelling from the direction of the station. I should really learn to stop jinxing things, I quickly run over to where I heard yelling.

"What'd you say?" I saw two strange men were looming around Yukari, "You better shut your mouth, bitch!"

"Can I get a piece of that, Bro!?" the other smacked his fist in his face, leering in closer.

This didn't look good but I didn't have time to think, my legs were already kicking in high speed. Running off the top steps of the stairs and jumping high in the air to kick the one who was edging closer to Yukari. Knocking him down to the side and making me land on my hands that smacked loudly on the cement.

I winced a little in pain but shoot up quickly back on my feet, holding my arms up protectively in front of Yukari.

"K-Ko-chan!?"

"You want part of this too, sis?" the tallest man growled at me, but my eyes wouldn't waver.

"Why you bitch!" the other one I kicked stood up, wiping his mouth but smiled when he looked at me, "Dude, they're both hot, Bro!"

I felt a bit more nervous now, there wasn't anyway for me to take on them both and protect Yukari but I still wouldn't back down now. I shallow down a deep breath and spit out my most threatening glare.

"You better leave or a kick's not the only thing you'll be leaving with." I gulp, praying that my voice wasn't as shaky as my heart was right now.

"Oh, I'm so scared," the taller man sneers at me, "What are you going to do next? Powder me with make-up?"

I twist a little peeved at that, breathing in deeply and building up a strong and vicious-sounding voice. It took me a little by surprise at how easy it was for it to slip through my lips, and how natural it felt.

"Next, I'll kick your asses!"

My body twists, and my leg rises up. Spinning hard at the man, aiming right at his stomach and knocking the man. I quickly don't hesitate to throw a punch at the smaller man who tried to grab me, in his face. Both hits made my limbs shake, and my fingers stung from punching him.

I turn to Yukari and grab her wrist.

"Come on!" I quickly run with her, away from the station. I huff hard feeling the adrenaline drain out of my legs, making my entire body feel like jelly. My head turns back to Yukari seeing her shaking a bit, she was just as scared as I was. "Y-Yuka-tan are you okay...?"

"K-Ko-chan, th-thanks..." I let go of her wrist, pulling a little at my jacket trying to get cooled off from the rush just then. Her face quickly twists into anger but her body was still shaking, "What the hell... Seriously!? What's up with those punks, total wastes of humanity!"

I couldn't help but chuckle a little seeing how she steamed up.

"Seriously, what the hell!? Geez...I'm so pissed off...!" she lets out a large huff, now glaring at the floor, "I thought, 'someone, help me!' I said that I wouldn't have to rely on anyone, but I needed someone in a time like this...! I'm pissed off at myself!"

I stiffen a little, seeing her anger turn into something more sour than before.

"This... This is no different from my mom!" her body was shaking even more now, but this was from anger not fear.

_"Yukari..."_ my eyes frown, she was still having such a hard time.

"...I'm gonna go back." the other quickly turns before I could even respond, running off, most likely back to the dorms.

I nibble on my lips, mustering up strength to check the station one more time. After all, it didn't look like she found her wallet yet and I really didn't want to head back to the dorms right away.

Still uncomfortable about Aigis.

My eyes peek around looking for any traces of the two men, unluckily I could still hear them nearby but what they talked about caught my attention.

"Hey look Bro, it's that girl's wallet," one voice spoke up with a snicker, "Looks like she's from Gekkou..."

"Oh? Then we better give this back." the other voice comes up, with his own snicker, "We got a debt to pay back after all, it'd be rude to keep her, and that bitch waiting."

I felt my eyes burn and narrow with disgust, my heart raced with a revolting amount of wrath.

I wouldn't be letting them off easily after how they scared Yukari, I lace my fingers together and crack them with a venomous smirk on my lips.

"Hi," I walk up to them, "I believe that's my friend's."

x

"Ow..." I rub my arm timidly, with a pink wallet that had a heart buckle in my free hand. "Maybe doing that wasn't a good idea..."

For sure, this would be the last time I would hit a person.

I looked for a secluded place to fix my hair up and heal and cover up my bruises and aching muscles. Though I could already feel some of the many personas that were able to use healing spells speed up my recovery already.

Making my lips smile warmly, they were truly great friends.

My feet quickly tap over to a alleyway, I wasn't familiar with this place but it seemed like the best place to stay for now. I lean against the wall and latch open my bag, slipping Yukari's wallet in and looking for anything that was reflective to help me fix my hair.

I didn't need brother to worry about me again, nor did I want him to find out I got into a fight.

That was biggest worry and the thing I wanted to avoid the most. I frown with displeasure when I couldn't find anything to help me see my reflection, and there was no way for me to get my hair back up properly by myself.

I grumble, closing my bag and just tug out my barrettes, letting my hair down and loosely fall on my shoulders.

"...It'll be weird if I went home like this though..." my throat whines a bit and I think hard of what to do exactly.

"That chick..." I freeze up when a familiar voice speaks up, "That looks like Gekkou high..."

My eyes narrowly glance to the side, seeing someone I wished never to see again.

The cat-kicker.

His hair was slicked back like before and he wore similar clothes like when I first saw him. Hopefully with my hair down and so long as he didn't look at my face closely he wouldn't realize it was me; a girl that smacked him senselessly when he kicked Yuu.

I look the other way, begging for them not to come any closer.

Only to hear in dismay footsteps coming closer.

_"Shoot, I jinxed it..."_ my eyes sneak glances back to them, seeing the cat-kicker walk closer to me but, something else caught my attention.

No, it was someone and I could breathe with relief. My feet quickly tap over toward them, but I slip by them not daring to look up and have a chance of slipping up and letting them see my rare crimson eyes.

Stepping quickly over to where a tall man was slouched in a red-maroon coat and had a black beanie, practically blending in the background.

It felt nerve-wracking to step closer to him but it felt a lot safer than staying in the corner by myself, I muster up as much courage as I can, trying to brush off a stinging feeling that pang'd in my chest painfully.

"S-Shinjiiro-san!" I jolt when he glares at me, I gulp a little. "D-don't make that face...!" I panic a little when he doesn't let down his glare and point to my face, "I-It's me, remember!"

"...You." he mumbles with a grunt, "...What do you want?"

My heart raced the closer and longer I stood to him, it felt like the feeling was trying to tell me something.

This feeling felt familiar too.

My face felt like it was burning.

"U-um, I was w-wondering if you could help me with these..." my voice is a squeaked whisper, I hold my clips and ties up in my slender fingers, nervously staring to him with pleading eyes.

Begging him to not leave me alone.

For a moment I thought he was glaring at me again, but his eyes were focused more behind me as I heard feet shuffle.

"Tch," he clicks his tongue, getting up on his feet, "You're as stupid as that other brat."

My eyes blink curiously at him, was he talking about brother?

"Come on." he pulls me by my wrist, out of the alleyway. Dragging with more strength than necessary, but his touch felt warm and friendly, and it saved me out of that pickle just now.

If the feeling that swarmed in my chest went away, I think he would feel just like Minato to me.

Like another brother with a cold but warm touch.

My lips curve into a warm smile.

I was sure to thank him and make friends with this person soon.


	24. Change

I should really work on that cover art, but ah, this is really fun. (Also for some reason I'm just zipping by through chapters... It might be due to the fact we're getting a little closer to parts I'm really excited about, ahem.)

A little bit of a shorter chapter. (And forth update in a row, wow.)

Anyways enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 24: Change  
**

7/25

"Dude summer break starts tomorrow! It's time to meet some cuties at the beach!"

I snort despite how tired I felt, it was like Junpei never learned. Even after what happened in Yakushima.

"Ya know, if you think about it, we're pretty lucky to be living in the dorms..." he leers in closer to me, "Mitsuru-senpai, Yuka-tan, Fuuka and even Ko-tan! They're all hotties, don't ya think?"

I shake my head at him, he really never learned.

x

"Ah Arisato-san." I raise an eye seeing Ms. Kanou walk in, she was probably looking for Minako but I couldn't help feel a scowl on my face when I saw the woman.

She was irksome, even more so after hearing about her constantly from Kenji and how she acted for the tennis club. I couldn't fathom how the other even remotely liked her beyond her looks.

"M-Ms. Kanou... is there something you need?"

"About the club... do you know about the fellowship we'll be doing at another school?" I twitch, I didn't hear about this, "You'll all get to play tennis at a school in the countryside. Imagine that fresh air!"

"E-eh, really?"

"And at night, there'll be delicious food and a hot spring!" the teacher makes a rather childish giggle, "Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

"Mm, that does!" I see her smile brightly, "B-but, um when is it...?"

"In two days from now, you'll practice here for a week, then leave for the other school. Don't forget, okay?"

When the teacher leaves, and I could see Minako's shoulders drop.

"...August first... B-but..." her voice sounded like she was going to cry.

"N-Nee-san, you don't have to be there..." I walk over to her, patting her lightly on her shoulders. She was probably feeling upset about not being able to see the track tournament that was on the second.

I was partly glad she couldn't come, after all I was still worried about what was going to happen with how Kazushi's knee.

She still didn't seem to bright any further.

"W-why don't you come watch the practice then? When you have free time, of course."

"E-eh," it worked this time, as her eyes perk, "I-Is that really okay?"

"Of course, just..." I groan a little, thinking about spending two days without her entirely, "J-Just be careful on your trip okay?"

"Mm, promise!" she wraps me into a hug, humming into a cheery mood again. "I'm going to the cooking club today, so I'll be sure to bring you lots of sweets to cheer you on!"

I smile with warmth flooding in my chest, watching her wave energetically and skipping off.

She was acting even happier now and it didn't seem forced, I guess she was over the little incident with Aigis. Though it made feel a little sad to know she was fine by herself even without me at night now but that was only proof she was getting stronger.

I should learn to do the same.

*"*"*

"Um... I-I don't want you to watch, so could you make something different?" her pale face was in bright red fluster, making me giggle quietly inside.

Fuuka was always so cute, but this takes the cake.

"Mm hmm, I don't mind." I grin at her, "I'll just make some chocolate truffles!"

I smile brightly to myself, thinking of how delighted he'll be.

It was one of his favorite after all.

x

"Done!" I lick my lips in delight, tying up a red box with a silver ribbon that was full of sweet truffles.

"Ah, I'm done here too!" my head tilts when I see Fuuka smiling in just as much glee as I was. "Here, look, Ko-chan."

The small girl walks up to me holding a round ball of rice, the aroma made my mouth water, making me a little embarrassed.

"Is it alright for me to...?" I look at her with hungry eyes, this was the best I've seen the teal-haired girl make yet.

She gives me a slow nod, holding the rice ball up for me to take, that I'm more than happy enough to take and taste. Squealing a bit at how delicious it was, really the best thing she's cooked so far and she didn't even need help.

"H-How is it...?"

"Delicious!" I smile brightly still chewing happily on it, the favor was blended well and the rice wasn't too moist or hard.

"...Really? I-I'm so glad..." she smiles at me with gleaming eyes, "I finally got you to say that."

I giggle a little embarrassed, I guess she saw through me whenever I told her she was doing good. Though that technically wasn't a lie, Fuuka was great at this, she was getting better every time we cooked and she knew her way around technology like a pro.

In fact, the cake she took, could literally be made by her own hands now.

"I thought that there would be no way I could mess up making a rice ball, so I did a lot of research." her cheeks flush brightly, "The more I looked into things like what salt, seaweed to use, I got more and more into it..."

I smile even brighter at her, she found it.

"I got so excited when I was doing my research, and even more excited when I was making them now." her lips curved into the happiest smile I've seen on her yet, "...I think the most important thing is the feeling of wanting others to enjoy what you make, I think because of that, I was able to make this taste good."

My head nods to her with pure delight.

"I wonder if this is what they mean when they say 'cooking requires love'."

The girl lets out a hearty laugh, the biggest and most energetic laugh I've ever heard come out of her lips. It was pleasant and absolutely soothing in my ears, she's grow so much since I first met her.

_"She's still really adorable though."_ I keep a bright smile up.

x

*"*"*

"...Hello!" I'm staring down to a child who was a ruler-length shorter than me, he was wearing a white buttoned shirt and an orange hooded vest on top. It was that kid we met a while back that sis had thrown into her arms with affection. "My name is Ken Amada, I'll be staying here for a while. I'll try to stay out of everyone's way, so don't mind me."

Something about this kid reminded me of the past, the look in his eyes seemed too dark for a ten-year old. His voice and words were rigid and overly-polite, he was trying to grow-up faster than time let him.

Now I see why Minako gave him such an affection hug, he probably had something happen in his past just like us.

"Ken! It's good to see you again," Minako kneels down beside me towards the child, holding Yuu in her hands, "This is Yuu, I hope you two get along!"

"U-um, a-alright..." the boy seemed to uncomfortable in front of her, though I couldn't blame him. After what happened the first time, the way she plucked him off the ground like that and practically squeezed him with love out of the blue, would make anyone feel a little awkward.

"Meow?" the gray cat seemed to tilt its head at the boy, with warm and lazy looking eyes.

"Yuu," she holds the cat to her face, nuzzling her nose affectionately to its soft-pink one, "This is Ken, be nice to him and look after Ni-chan when I'm away alright?"

It was a little scary how the cat seemed like it understood her words, as it meow'd to her, like it was saying 'yes'.

x

7/29

"T-thanks again Rio-chi," I smile apologetic, "Letting practice end a little early."

"No problem, I know you're brother's taking part of the tournament so I'm sure you want to to see him in action," she giggles out a joke, nudging me lightly, "And I'm curious about how Yuko's doing."

We were walking over to the track field, to get a glimpse at brother's practice. Though it was tough as I had my own practice sessions, Rio was kind enough to let everyone off early today.

"Last lap! Keep it up!" both of our eye glance over to where we hear Yuko's shout, she was fiercely supporting everyone with her voice and watching everyone do there best. "You gotta beat Mamoru! This is our year!"

"Who's Mamoru...?" the two of us walk over to Yuko, watching the track team zip on through the tracks, they were all incredibly fast.

"Oh...! Minako, Rio!" Yuko smirks proudly, "He's the competition, Mamoru Hayase, we beat him and we'll win the tournament for sure."

My red eyes stare at brother, he didn't seem to be breaking a sweat at all. Though, I guess that made sense if I thought about how much running he did during the dark hour.

"Go! Ni-chan!" I yell loudly, though for some reason he seemed to nearly trip when I did that.

It was little funny how concentrated he was that he didn't even notice me standing here. I was glad he was enjoying himself.

x

"Ni-chan, you're going to do great for sure at that tournament!" I grin while walking back, it was a little late since we stopped by Hagakure with Rio, Yuko and Kazushi. Everyone was so cheerful it made me smile so much that my cheeks felt sore.

"...Thanks." he smiles but makes a light grunt looking at his phone, "...We better hurry it's almost midnight..."

I shift on my feet, jostled by his words, "R-right."

Dark Hour

The world's flooded with blood again, as if right on cue to spite the two of us. The green light drowned over the streets and puddles of blood oozed on the ground.

"...A-At least we're close to the dorms, this time." I chuckle, feeling the aura of deja vu. Remembering the first day we arrived here, it was a day just like this wasn't it?

The two of were alone, walking to our new home, the dorms when it struck midnight. Turning into what we only knew as the 'green night', not as the dark hour.

"Feeling nostalgic?" I chuckle when brother seems to read my mind, and I nod to him with a warm smile.

So much has happened since then, so many things have changed. Some were a little hard to get used to but most of them were good, warm. Like how we weren't alone anyone, and the both of us had so many precious friends now.

I was so happy to be here, but.

A feeling lingered deep in my heart, tugging at my heartstrings. Thinking about Aigis' words, about how she called me 'no good' and 'dangerous'. I didn't understand why, but my heart hurt so much when I thought about her words.

Maybe it was true, maybe I was some kind of hindrance for brother, for everyone. After all, I couldn't fight shadows properly, I was reckless when I did fight and I was constantly making people look at me with worried eyes.

_"I need to change."_ I thought with a burning resolve in my heart, _"For the better, I can't keep staying like this."_

A loud whining noise made my heart jump.

"...That was..." brother looked towards the nearby shine, "Nee-san, could we check it out quickly...?"

His eyes seemed to be worried for something, making me worry as well.

"Mm, let's go." I lace my fingers with his, as we jog quickly up the stairs. Seeing something I never expected to see, Aki-nii who was kneeling down to a dog that whined in pain.

It was a stained with blood.

"Koromaru..." brother's voice was a low whisper of shock, his face was paled. "W-What happened...!?"

He drags us over closer to the injured dog, he looked in so much pain.

"Koro-chan!" my fingers unlace, twisting around to see Fuuka and everyone else running up towards us, "Are you okay, Koro-chan!?"

Her small hands little pet the dog's white furry face, not minding the blood that was staining it. I kneel down next to her, looking over his wound, it was a large claw-like scar that ran across in his side.

This was a wound from a shadow.

"H-Hold still!" my hands fumble a bit trying to draw magic into them, hovering over his abdomen with swirling green light. "I-it's okay, you'll be alright..."

"Man... He's one tough fighter," Aki-nii strokes the dog's head lightly with his gloved hand, "He defeated a shadow all by himself..."

"A sh-shadow!?" brother voice jumped but my focus was concentrated on the blood-stained fur, trying to close his wound to stop the bleeding. It seemed like a shallow cut, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt or that it wasn't dangerous to leave alone.

I bite my lips, begging for the wound to close faster.

"Wait, does that mean... this dog's a persona-user!?" Jun-chan's voice starts up too, the fact he states makes me nearly lose my focus.

"He says, 'This is a place of peace, so I protected it.' " this time it was Aigis' voice that popped in, "There are flowers over there."

I still don't dare looking up, in fear that the dog, Koromaru would lose too much blood.

"Those flowers," Fuuka's hands were still lightly petting Koromaru's head, "They must be for the priest..."

"So..." Yukari's kneels next to me, joining Fuuka in petting the dog to comfort him, "He really was guarding this place..."

"Uh, Aigis? Don't tell me you can translate dog language too..."

"Canines do not have their own language, however speech is not the only means of communication."

"AAH!" I snap my head over my shoulder, now letting a stronger burst of energy out through my fingers to heal Koromaru, "SHUT UP! I'm trying to FOCUS!"

"W-whoa... K-Ko-tan..." I don't even bother showing my pouting face at Jun-chan, turning back to the white shiba dog and focusing entirely on the wounds that were finally starting to close up.

"Mit-nee," I still don't look up, "Is there a vet we can take him too...? I mean I can close the wound, but checking with a professional would be for the best..."

"It may be midnight, but I can arrange for one, so don't worry." I smile with relief at the other and to brother who was smiling too, he did like dogs like I liked cats.

"Good job boy, you did an amazing job." Yukari gives the dog another scratch with gentle affection.

I let my let my eye gaze warmly at him.

He really did do a great job, it was admirable.

x

7/30

Dark Hour

"Good evening," I blink back awake, hearing a familiar voice. "It's becoming quite lively around you two."

"Pharos..." my hands shift on the bed, thinking brother was still next to me. _"...Ah, that's right... Ni-chan's and I are in different rooms now."_

"So, how are you getting along with the others?"

"Perfectly..." I smile, I would be able to warm up with Aigis soon.

At least I hoped.

"I'm glad to hear that." he smiles at me and walks closer, to sit near my on the pink-checkered sheets, "...It is one week until the next full moon. Are you prepared...?"

I blink at him, shifting up off my back too look at him properly.

"To be honest, I'm not too worried about you... However you and he should still remain cautious."

"Thanks, come see me again, okay?" I lift my hand over to him, lightly stroking his hair with care. A warm smile on my lips and look in my eyes, "Oh and don't be scared to visit Ni-chan, if he's mean to you at all just let me know!"

His bright blue eyes smile at me, giving me a soft nod before disappearing in thin air like he always.

I thought a little bit longer, shifting on my rather large-bed before going to bed again.

Thinking about not about the day but just Pharos.

Pharos, he was strange, he should have scared me since day one when he vanished in thin air. Yet he didn't, instead I felt comfortable with him, almost like he was someone I met a long time ago, a childhood friend almost. Which was strange, with how I couldn't remember anything but this sensation I felt when being near him.

It was as comforting, like I was nearby brother.

x

*"*"*

7/31

"Mmm," Minako's arms stretch upward, "Man, Rio-chi worked us hard on the last day and tomorrow we're heading to Yasoinaba..."

I chuckle at her still chewing on a sweet piece of mochi.

"I know Yuu will be okay but still..." she feet pace nervously, "I wanted to cheer you and Kazu-chi on..."

"Thoughts are more than enough Nee-san," my eyes smile, "Besides with the amount of cheering you've already done, it more than enough."

I laugh again, remembering how much she shouted for us during practice and how many treats she brought in to cheer the entire team on.

"Boo, still..."

I snort, patting her after stuffing the last bit of chewy mochi in my mouth.

"Just have fun over there alright?"


	25. Joy

Haha, I bet you're all wondering what's going on right now with this especially with so many changes, hehe.

Anyways please enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 25: Joy  
**

8/1

"Man, that was a long train-ride..." I yawn feeling a little tired, "I think I've had enough train-rides to last me forever...!"

"Oh, that's right," Rio smiles near me, "You and Minato-kun transferred here... Haha, it's been so long it feels like I've known you forever."

My cheeks flush at that.

"O-oh look! We're here!" I point hastily towards a rather homely looking school, with a bit of a rusty name-plate on the side with the words 'Yasoinaba High School' etched into it.

"What a rustic school." I groan hearing Ms. Kanou start, "There's no convenience stores nearby, no clubs either."

_"It is the countryside..."_ I couldn't handle this woman.

"I want all of you to be on your best behavior, okay?"

A crowd of students come by us, all over them were wearing black and white uniforms with plaid skirts.

It was a interesting and rather cute outfit, though I was still sticking to Gekkoukan, I was content with its uniform and that life.

x

"That was really fun!" I skip backwards humming happily, looking at Rio. "So, are we going to stay at an inn...?"

"Yeah," the other keeps up with me, "Did you hear that they have a natural hot spring there?"

"Really...?" my eyes perk.

"Wanna wash each other's backs later?"

I smile and nod, "Sure!"

"This is so much fun! Last year's fellowship wasn't too far from our school." Rio sighs in bliss, "This place is so laid back... I love it."

I had to agree, the clean air was easy and light to breath in and it was soothing to be around. It felt like true peace.

"That shopping district seems pretty lively, though. What a peaceful town..." she smiles in a clear breath of fresh air, "I'd love to live here."

"Yeah, me too." I giggle, before I bump into someone making me spin on my heels in a fluster. "O-Oh...! I'm so sorry! A-Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, don't worry 'bout it." a girl with light brown hair in a short bob-cut gave me a toothy grin. She wore a black uniform with a white ribbon and seemed to be maybe either starting high school or just in her last year of middle school. Next to her wearing the same uniform was another girl who was a little taller than the brunette, she had black hair that was short but longer than the other girl's and a large white hairband on top.

She looked refined and outstandingly mature.

"Are you the club members from Gekkoukan High School?" she looked at us briefly staring at our uniforms, "The Amagi Inn sent me to get you."

"H-Hey, Yukiko I'm here too you know...!" the brunette seemed to fall on her shoulder, with a playful pout. Though she was talking to the taller girl who she called Yukiko, her brown eyes were curiously looking over to us.

"That's us," I smile as warmly as possible at the two, "Thank you very much!"

"Y-yeah," Rio's voice was a little lost and choked for some reason. I guess she was a little nervous, talking to someone that was so mature for her age, "Um... You don't work there, do you?"

"Nah!" the brunette answers for the ravenette, "Yukiko's just helping out, her family runs it. Hehe, oh I'm Chie Satonaka, just call me Chie."

"I'm Minako but call me Ko-chan, and this is Rio-chi!" I shine a bright grin at the two girls and wave to myself and Rio, "We're both juniors in Gekkoukan."

"Then you guys are like our senpais, huh?" the brunette, Chie was lively and bright. Contrasting with her friend's more reserved demeanor. "Yukiko and me are still in our last year of middle school."

The girl jumps looking back to her friend, a little flustered. "Ooh! Shoot, sorry Yukiko, I'm getting in the way...!" The small girl makes a crooked grin, but it was just as bright as before.

This town really felt peaceful.

"It's fine, Chie," the other's black eyes look to us, giving us a polite bow, "I'm sorry for the wait, this way please."

"Aah! Thanks again...!" I sway a bit on my feet, following with Rio the two young girls. _"I wonder how Ni-chan's doing...?"_

x

*"*"*

8/2

"We pledge to complete fairly and uphold the ideals of good sportsmanship!" I hold back my whines, my eyes were tired from lack of sleep.

_"I guess I'm not the only one who had a reason to sleep together..."_ I bite back my yawning, I didn't want to interrupt the start of the regional with a yawn just because I was having another case of insomnia.

"Hey, you're almost up, Minato!" I nearly topple forward when I feel a strong smack on my back, making me squeak out a groan and look behind me to see Kazushi and Yuko.

"How about it?" the tanned girl smiles with confidence at me, "You ready to do this?"

"Definitely." otherwise that week of practice would have been for nothing.

"That's what I like to hear!" I get another smack on the back from Kazushi who's grinning with pride, "Now, since this is your first time, let me give you some advice..."

His light expression hardens when he grips me by my shoulders, making my entire body face him.

"Just give it everything you've got!" he huffs with determined eyes, "It takes guts to win! Don't give in to fear!"

It was a little refreshing to hear the other's words, making me feel a little less slouchy.

"Alright, dude." he squeezes my shoulders and gives them a light pat, "Go for it!"

I could feel his determination rub right off me, causing a light chuckle to leave through my lips.

*"*"*

"Thanks for coming to see us off you two!" I grin, giving the two girls a little ruffle in their hair and light hug for each of them. "I'm definitely gonna come here again with Ni-chan! Ehehe, so prepare yourselves then!"

The two in my arms voice out two different tones of joyful laughter, one was loud and open while the other was soft and quiet. These girls were adorable, I had to introduce them to Minato someday.

Hopefully we could see them again soon.

"Then be sure to warn him of my flying dragon kick!" the brunette, Chie jumps out of my arms, posing into a kicking motion. Imitating some kind of martial artist, letting a giggle out my lips.

"Chie," Yukiko again held back her full laugh but her smile compensated with its brightest, "Come on, Kansai-san asked me to pick up a parcel at the textile shop, and um..."

I let the girl slip out of my arms, still smiling with delight in my eyes.

"It was nice to meet you all, and please have a safe trip back."

"Aw, Yuki-chan," I lightly pat her head, careful of not knocking her white headband off, "No need to be so polite, but thanks again, you two!"

x

"I'm home!" my body hunches over the back part on one of the lounge's couches, "I'm definitively sick of trains...! Enough to go crazy!"

"Yo, Ko-tan!" I grin when I see a familiar face I haven't seen for a day, "How'd training camp go? Were there any cute girls at their school?"

I snicker to Jun-chan, missing his mischievous-looking grin.

"Yep!" I climb over the back of the couch, sitting in its soft cushions with a wide smirk on my face. "They were _beautiful_."

"Seriously!?" I bite on my lips to hold in my laugh, watching the other jump and look at me with a shocking disappointment, "Man, I should've gone with you guys."

"Is that all you ever think about...?" Yukari joins in seeing her hover above me, giving me a friendly pat on the head to welcome me back. "Oh, yeah Ko-chan did you hear about the tournament?"

My head completely cranks upward to her, looking at her with sparkling red eyes, waiting for her to continue.

"He did really great!"

"Yeah man, the dude just zipped by on the tracks..." Jun-chan's face scrunches up in thought, "Speaking of him, where is he? You'd think he'd be the first one to show up to welcome you back."

"Oh, actually." I hold up my cell, that had all sorts of charms dangling on it now, "He sent me a text saying he needed to check on someone, but he did call me as soon as I replied though."

I giggle heartily, it was nice to be back home. To the place I could call home.

"Oh! I have a really good idea," my eyes glimmer with excitement as I bounce in the seat, "What do think about going to Inaba sometime, all of us together, I know these two cuties you're just gonna love!"

"Ooh, I like the way you're thinking Miss Arisato!"

I only laugh when Jun-chan looks ready to drool, already fantasizing the trip. He might be more excited than I was, but...

"Jun-chan you know, I still need to ask Mit-nee and everyone else right?"

x

*"*"*

8/4

Dark Hour

"Alright," I pinch the bridge of my nose in absolute frustration, ignoring the bright lights of the tower's lobby and blanking staring at a light blonde-robot. "Aigis and Kirijo are team red, and the rest are on team blue..."

My eyes are coldly glaring at the robot.

"Does that suffice."

"Affirmative," the girl's eyes are unmoved by my annoyance, only further annoying me. "This setup will be much more beneficial for our mission."

I twitch a little.

"Alright then, Fuuka if we're getting close to any strong shadows let us know." I breathe a out a bit of the steam that was boiling in my head, I honestly wished that Aigis would be a little less calculative, though it was a little hard I guess. Seeing as she was a robot and barely seemed to understand that I set the team-up with cooperative ideals in mind.

Such as getting Yukari and Kirijo to maybe warm up to each a bit more. Or get Sanada and Junpei to stop rushing into things with Minako around to scold them with worry.

Though thinking of it now, I think it might be best to have Minako with Yukari for a bit. It was still awkward for me to really talk to her without feeling a little peeved from her outburst and it was out of the question to put Aigis together with sis, with the way they would spark daggers at each other.

Not to mention I wasn't too up for letting her stick to a robot that had guns literally for arms.

"Right, I'll be sure to be as much help as I can!" I smile to the petite girl, she was doing her hardest to help out and that was incredible. Especially knowing how her persona's abilities were so attuned to support skills was really helpful.

"Minato-san," I groan again, looking back to Aigis, wondering what she wanted this time. "I am equipped with a special function, it is called Orgia Mode, would you like more information on it, before we begin the mission?"

"That'll be helpful to know..." I blink, _"Orgia what..."_

At least she didn't decide to mention this while we were inside the Tartarus.

"In this mode, my limiter is temporarily disabled." her glassy-eyes blink with no emotion, "Thus, my offensive capability increases significantly."

"W-wouldn't that hurt...?" my lips lax in a small smile, seeing sis worry even about a robot that she didn't get along with was amazing. She had such a big and kind heart.

"However, since my inhibition logic is disabled as well, I am entirely autonomous during that time." it already felt that the girl was most of the time, "Furthermore, once Orgia Mode has been activated, it cannot be cancelled until I overheat. Then a cool down period is required before I can resume normal operation."

"Hmm, how long does it last?"

"Orgia Mode only lasts for a short while, so timing is crucial." she slightly tilts her head, despite it being mental, "That concludes the tutorial... Would you like me to repeat it?"

I nearly choke up a laugh, she was far from even passing as human in terms of thought and speech.

"No, but try avoiding this... Orgia Mode unless it's an emergency," I look over our members, one by one in thought, "We still lack some hands so if you overheat it'll end up doing more harm than good, so use it only during dire situations."

"Understood."

I let out a short sigh, feeling exhausted from this. If only I wasn't told there were people stuck in the tower, I would have probably never bothered with it today.

*"*"*

"G-geh..." I recoil back staring at three large muscular men-like shadows, that reminded me those wrestlers people with how they had gold underwear-looking garments, boots and wristbands. Along with blue-masks that covered their faces leaving only dirty-blonde looking hair falling off it.

_"First pink eagles, giant hands..."_ I thought about the other strong shadows we fought before, groaning a little at how strange they were. _"Now we have macho-men..."_

I gripped onto the rather heavy naginata in my hand, breathing in a deep breath, that made my nose crinkle up at the smell of blood which filled the air.

_"J-Just think about the people trapped here, we have to save them..."_

"_~They are three enemies! Furious Gigas are weak to wind and will reflect strike attacks! Please becareful Akihiko-senpai!~_" Fuuka's voice rings in our heads, as the three macho-men, Furious Gigas run in to attack us.

"W-Wind... Then...!" I jump to avoid a strike from one of the large shadows, while buzzing into my head looking for someone's help and grabbing the silver evoker that dangled on my waist, "Nar-san!"

I fire the gun, calling for a rather feminine-looking man wearing only a bright red sash and had long blonde hair with flowers sprouting on top. Narcissus was really pretty and I found his flowers cute and soothing. If only he wasn't so uptight about himself, I think he would be since to listen to.

If he muttered something other than himself half the time, though I guess if he didn't. He wouldn't really be Narcissus that I know and love right now.

He was still a good friend.

"MAGARU!" he waves out with both hands stretched out in front of his chest a huge gust of green-tinted wind, knocking down the three shadows to the blue and yellow tiled floors. "Yuka-tan, dodge and use garu spells!"

"Got it!"

I nearly puff out a sigh at how natural this was starting to get, to think I was starting to get use to fighting... It sent unpleasant shivers down my spine.

"Sanada focus on keeping the shadows away from them! Junpei, Kirijo! Focus on one each when they're knocked off balance!" I still was far from brother's leadership though, I wasn't really sure if I felt relieved or disappointed in myself. "Aigis, be on guard in case of anything getting out of hand and work with Sanada!"

I stop on my feet, clacking my shoes on the ground and readying myself to fire again for another magaru after the three swordsmen and woman run in to slash at them. One each attacking the large shadows separately, getting in about an even amount of damage to all of them at once before they jumped away as they got back up there feet.

"Yuka-tan!" I pull the trigger, it felt a lot smoother as time went on to reel out magic inside. Making it a lot stronger, "Nar-san! Magaru!"

A shatter echos after the glass of my head, and the wind that blew was much stronger. As Yukari and Io followed up with their own magaru, together with Narcissus. Not only knocking the shadows down but making them burst into reddish-black mist, defeating them.

"Alright!" I jump over to Yukari with a victorious smile on my face, giving her a big hug, "We did it!"

"Phew, man just how many personas do guys have?" Jun-chan taps me on the shoulder giving me a rather crooked grin that seemed a little bemused.

"Um..." I thought for moment, I wasn't actually sure how many could stay in our head, "I'm not really sure... You should ask Ni-chan about that..."

"About twelve and," he drops in next to us, though a few feet away being careful of Aigis. As she she still didn't want brother and me being too close. "Is everyone still alright to keep going?"

"Hell yeah, I am!" I giggle softly seeing Jun-chan pump a fist in the air.

x

*"*"*

8/5

"I think it's fair to say," I groan with my head flat on the table, "That I'm going to sleep for the rest of the day."

"Dude, you're the one who kept on going with Aigis and Akihiko-senpai." my throat makes a weak growl hearing Junpei's loud words, making my headache worsen.

"That was cause I couldn't just leave those two alone," my body hunches up and back, making my bones crack loudly in fatigue, "And since Fuuka told us there was someone else stuck there... There's no way I could reason with Aki's thick head."

"A-Aki?" my eyes glare at him when I see him snort.

"I got really annoyed saying 'Sanada this' and 'Sanada no you're going kill yourself'," my fingers moves up to massage my temples, just remembering the battle with that strange head-tower for a floor master was enough to make my head pound even louder. "Though, it was funny when his face looked ready to drop when I called him that."

"Seriously!?"

I let out a loud and long yawn, that made my eyes water.

"Mm, pretty sure Nee-san got the same reaction when she called him 'Aki'..." my face scrunches up a bit from my displeasure, "-'nii'."

"What about Aki-nii?" I practically jump out of my skin hearing my sister's voice whisper lightly in my ear beside me.

"N-No, it's nothing..." I take a breath in to calm my heart down, "We were just talking about Aki..."

From the way her smile was shining with joy, I was pretty sure she took it as a meaning I was warmed up to him.

If anything, it was more annoyed but I guess the senior wasn't too bad.

_"Not to mention his face was priceless that time."_


	26. Fifth Moon

I may slow down a little, cause, six chapters in a row doesn't sound healthy for me...Watch me go back on my words, aha..ha...

But anyways please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 26: Fifth Moon**

8/6

Dark Hour

I let out a small murmur through my lips, feeling a little less tired than yesterday though, it did take two days of just sleeping early to feel better. Thankfully in time as today was another full moon.

"Well, it's a full moon once again." my ears are barely listening to the man's words, he still didn't click well with me.

Neither did Aigis, but I was sure it was mostly due to how unnaturally attached she was to the idea of me being her 'priority' and keeping Minako and I separate. I found it was something that would just piss me off, than make me cautious and wary of dangerous.

Granted there was still that uneasy feeling I had about her, like the man-made girl would really separate me and my sister apart; and not just make us sleep in separate rooms.

I loosely glanced at her in the corner of my eye, she was rigid and straight. Sitting and waiting for the next operation to be debriefed, her glassy-eyes strangely looked a little different than usual.

"Any luck Yamagishi?" my attention flickers back on again, remembering what we were sitting in the command room for.

"Yes, I've located it... and this time," the teal-headed girl face was scrambled with worry, "It's not just an ordinary one."

"Now that's more like it."

I roll my eyes swiftly, "Aki, please." My lips smirk when I see his body tense up again, I had to admit this was a lot more fun than I first thought.

"It's by the deserted houses in the northern part of Iwatodai." Fuuka's brows furrow, "But, there is one thing that's strange... It seems like it's underground... almost ten meters."

"It must be in some kind of basement..." it felt like Yukari wasn't far off, but it didn't seem to fit right.

If I went with the pattern, the shadow would be large, I couldn't imagine one of them just sitting around inside a basement.

"According to my records, there is no structure in the area that matches those criteria." I was still a little in awe at how Aigis could do that, it made sense seeing as she was a robot. I hope just wouldn't do it out the blue like that though, especially when it was real people's records.

My hands sweat a bit at how awkward it was when she started digging up that boy, Ken's records. Listing it off right in front of me, making me learn some things that I really didn't need to know. Like how his mother died in a car accident, making me start to believe that everyone who held this so-called 'potential' had or lived twisted and unhealthy lives.

"However," I shake my thoughts out looking back at Aigis, "In the past there was an underground facility that was used by the military."

_"You had to be kidding me..."_ it was no wonder Fuuka sensed the shadow underground then, this made much more sense than a normal basement.

"Alright, we'll head over there and then we'll figure things out then..." I scratch through my blue hair, trying to figure out what to think of this.

x

Our footsteps seemed to sound hollow in the dark emerald streets, as we stepped and crept closer to where the underground facility was. Following Fuuka's guidance throughout the way in the harbor.

Each step just added to an uneasy feeling in my chest, it felt like someone was watching us.

I shake the feeling away when I spot blood eyes glance in my direction.

"The target should be around here..." the girl stops, looking around with a scowl-looking expression on her face. Showing how concentrated the girl was, as she looked around while she led us into a large mine-like tunnel.

"Well done..." an unfamiliar voice makes my hair stand on its ends and my spine shiver from fright, everyone quickly turns to look back at the entrance. Where two strange men were standing behind us.

"Who are these guys!?" Fuuka gasps inwardly, "Lucia didn't sense a thing 'til now!"

I step in front, clutching at my sword not liking how this looked.

Both of them look incredibly suspicious, especially the bony-looking one who was half-naked, pale hair and skin, that had tattoos covering his arms with inhuman bright yellow eyes and a revolver; a real gun, that was tucked in his studded-white belt that was around his torn light-blue jeans. The other seemed a little less dangerous, but I could still feel something wrong and dreaded whatever the glasses-wearing man held inside his silver suitcase. He had blue hair similar to mine if not a little bit darker and had the right side slicked back inside of my messy fringe, his eyes were matching in color with his hair, wearing red-tinted glasses with black rims.

"Ngh..." my shoulders stiffen, hearing Minako's voice quietly moan sounding in pain. When I look over her face is breaking out in sweat and her pupils are dilated with immense fear.

I clutch harder on my sword and draw it, gripping the handle tightly with my left-hand and scorn at the two men with a murderous glare.

"Who are you!?"

"This is the first time we've met in person. My name is Takaya. This is Jin." I hiss when the tattooed man smiles at us and waves with empty charisma to his companion, "We are known to some as Strega."

_"...Witch...?"_ I take a step back, looking over the two, _"No... It could be hex."_

"We've been keeping an eye on you..." the blonde leers in eyeing every one of us, "From what we hear, you've undertaken a 'righteous' battle to save the world. But we've come here tonight to put an end to that dream."

This meeting definitively felt like a hex, a curse.

"You've gained new allies, yet this land crawls with sin." his laugh made my muscle tense, "Tartarus is towering beautifully as always..."

"You know...?" Yukari's voice pipes up, her gaze felt like it bore a hole right through me.

"But, why the hell would you wanna stop us!?" Junpei's shout only made my body tense up further, seeing the blue-haired one speak up in response.

"Simple, if the shadows and the dark hour disappear, then so will our power." his expression twists at us, "And we can't let that happen, now can we?"

I jolt back another step, they couldn't possibly be...

"Power...?" Kirijo seems to pick on the same thing as her voice sounded alarmed now, "Don't tell me you're persona-users as well!"

"Why don't you use that pretty little head of yours for a change?" the blonde, the man, Takaya smiled eerily, "Only a select few wield the power of a persona and the dark hour is a frontier that is ours alone to explore, just like the Tower of Demise."

_"Tower of Demise..."_ my heart felt like it stopped for a moment, hearing those words. Fearing, that maybe, this whole thing was more than I thought it was. That this was starting to become more dangerous than I first saw.

"THAT's your reason!?" Yukari shout is loud enough to hollow all around us, "Are you crazy!? There's no telling what will happen if we don't do something about the shadows!"

The man's smile twists even further, his eyes frightened me with how empty and hopeless they looked.

"What difference does it make...?" he makes a dark laugh, "There will always be disasters, whether they are caused by shadows or arise from human folly. No one can predict the future, anyway."

This man was insane, it scared me to my very core.

"But, that is all beside the point... Surely you will acknowledge the sense of significance the dark hour has given you." he smiles, with his yellow-eyes gleaming in a dying light.

I grit hard on my teeth, burning the fear up with anger. "What do you know!?"

How dare this stranger, think for a moment I enjoyed this, seeing my sister have anxiety attacks the first nights when we knew nothing. Just how could someone even think being thrown into an unknown world suddenly, be something that was even remotely good?

"Is it not so?" his eyes narrow, looking at the rest of us, "How about the rest of you...? Do you also wish to return to your pathetic, ordinary lives?"

What was so wrong with wanting ordinary lives?

"You each got your own reason for fighting, 'justice' is only an excuse..." the voice raises into rage, "And that makes you all hypocrites! So I say, hell with you!"

My teeth clench hard, my fingers were gripping the sword's hilt hard enough to make my fingers feel numb. The entire felt like it was frozen in place, my chest was bubbling with something hot and made it ache to keep it all in.

The loud clank makes my mind click back into focus, staring back at the two men, seeing the partition of the tunnel begin to close.

"Wha...!?"

The blue haired one, makes a twisted scorn of delight with eyes that glared with utter hatred at us. "Have fun in there."

"W-WAIT!" someone pushes past me, running at full speed dropping everything that was in their hands. Zipping after the two men frantically like a reddish blur.

Minako.

I felt my heart drop and quickly run out to grab her wrist before she went out alone after those two men. Only for me to be stopped moments before by someone pulling my shirt back as the door shut completely. Hiding her figure and their's behind cold metal doors.

"DAMN IT!" my sword it dropped, as I slam hard on the doors in a futile attempt for it open. My body twist with my anger burning in my chest at the one who stopped me.

It was Aigis.

The swelling in my chest burst, as my hand grabbed her by the large ribbon tied around her neck, yanking her to me with blind rage.

"YOU," my teeth clanked with each other as I spoke, "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!?"

My rage only bubbles more when she reacts monotonously again.

"My systems saw that you would not be able to make it time, thus it was dangerous for you to continue onward."

"Dangerous?" my eyes were wide and stinging, "Like hell you can talk!"

I let go and push the thing down with all my strength, making her shift slightly back in puzzlement.

"You're a fucking WEAPON, you're the most dangerous!" my fingers pull hard on my hair, "Ugh, what's the use you can't understand how I feel right now..."

My hands felt cold while rubbing my temples in frustration, not even batting an eye to the loud vibrations that creep'd closer.

"M-Minato, please!" small hands shakes me into a saner state of mind, bringing my attention away from the robot and onto a large tank that had four segments of caterpillar tracks standing up like limbs. Lifting the vehicle up high like it was weightless and attached to its turret was a light blue helmet with a cross cut-out and wings that spanned on the head.

"Just great..." my voice hisses through my teeth, I didn't have time for this.

"It's Arcana is Justice... Wait, it's the Chariot? What the-" Fuuka stepped back honing on to the large tank for a reading, "Why am I sensing two entities...? It doesn't make sense!"

_"It doesn't matter either."_ I twirl the cold gun out with my fingers, not caring what personas came out. I only cared about destroying it.

*"*"*

"WAIT!" my lungs felt like they were being scorched, my throat was dry and made my voice sound choked. The racing beat of my heart was pounding in my ears.

Pain, there was pools of screaming pain that seemed to overflow in me. As if it was trying to whisper something to me, urging and crying for help to my heart.

I huffed for air to remember how to breathe again, staring at the two men that stared at me with two pair of gold eyes and dark blue ones.

My heart trembled just being near them, but I needed to know. This feeling of immense pain, of agony.

I knew I felt it somewhere before, but I couldn't remember where or when. Only that when I did, it was overwhelming.

"Well now," the man who named himself, Takaya had eyes that made me shiver. "To think that one of you would be foolish enough to follow us like a rat..."

I flinch, but stand my ground not budging from spot. Letting my short and shallow breaths answer his words. My lips suck in a deep breath, in the seconds that felt like hours filled with silence. Prepping my hands with cold ice, in case I needed to fight.

"I-I, I need to know..." my head was pounding as noise and voices begin to fill it again, "About your powers... Y-Your friends... They're..."

My chest tightens when I see the blonde man laugh.

"To think someone other than her calls them a 'friend'..." he takes a step closer looming over me, "Tell me, do you really think that ending the dark hour is just?"

My feet sway back a bit, feeling more pressure in my chest.

"Has it not brought you anything, anything at all of value?" his lips smirk to me, "We, of Strega are merely using our gifts that were given to us, to deny it is a sin itself, is it not?"

"Th-that's..." I'm scared, this man felt so empty, "Th-then why, why are they in pain!?"

This time the other takes a step back, staring at me with surprise written all over his face and the other who stayed silent was just as shocked.

"I, I'm not sure if these are their feelings..." my feelings are cold with an icy touch but my entire body was burning, "B-But they're in pain...! W-why!?"

My eyes stung with swelling tears, feeling another wave of emotions surging through me. Enough to make my head feel like it was splitting apart.

"Hmm, how interesting..." I couldn't stand anymore, the pain was tremendous. "Well then, it looks like there's more to this... little game of his than I thought..."

"G-game...? What are you-" jolts sparked violently, making my arms fling up and hand clench at my head in pain. Hearing a mesh of noise whisper loudly in my mind.

My vision is blurred and my ears are ringing but I could make out a mutter from the two and see the turn away, leaving.

"W-wait...!" the pounding gets louder and this time, it's followed by something raspy and dark.

A murmured whisper that shook chills in my burning skin.

_**Will you follow your heart, what is told to be just?**_

The figures are gone when my vision clears up, making me bite my lips. I didn't get the answers I wanted.

In fact I only had more questions in my head, only one thing was clear.

Something was very wrong.

My limbs were limp but I push myself up, turning to the large metal doors.

_"Ni-chan must be mad... I ran out like that..."_

He could get mad at me later, first I needed to open these doors.

*"*"*

"Junpei focus on guarding Fuuka!" my arm is stinging with pain, I was sure the bone was at least fractured now, "Aki keep softening Chariot's defenses and take it down!"

The large tank was two separate shadows that were pieced together through the tank's armor; Chariot the body and Justice the helm. They were working together, unlike mindless monsters they managed to use teamwork and supported each other. Even if I knocked down the Justice one, it would just be revived by the Chariot and I wasn't going to experiment if the Justice knew the same spell.

"Yukari and Kirijo work on support!" my jaws tense still fuming with anger, "Aigis, keep Justice occupied and take it down with Chariot!"

I jam my sword down, as hard as I could with one arm. Hoping that I could at least lever the doors open, we were too much at a disadvantage being stuck inside here. It was too cramped and dark and with two members that used long ranged weapons, it would render them dangerous than useful.

It cranked open, leaking out some of the more brighter green light in. Opening with someone's banging vibrating on it.

"Ni...!" the voice was muffled with the loud creaks of the metal, but I could recognize it. "Move...!"

I jump back with sword in hand and shout to everyone, "EVERYONE MOVE TO THE WALLS!"

"MAZIO!" bright sparks blind me for brief moment, flashing brightly in the underground room. Shocking the two shadows at the same time, sending bright sparks to light up the room. "MARAGI!"

Next the room blazed up in heat, as the two shadows were sent into bright flames.

My eyes take a second to adjust, seeing white spots in my vision but Minako's figure was clear with Oberon and Pyro Jack fading away after following her orders. Her evoker was already placed on her head again, readying for another shot.

"Mith-chan!" her eyes seemed redder than usual, almost like a true demon's. I shake that thought away, she was far from that and I knew it. "Mabufu!"

This time my eyes wince from the glitter of ice that froze up in a thin layer over our enemies, killing the flames and sparks that were still live.

She was really changing from fighting shadows, though I'm still not sure if it was for the better or not.

Only that I couldn't fall behind, lifting the my own evoker up a little awkwardly with my left hand.

"Oumitsunu!" I felt the towering stone giant behind my back, that swung its arms for a final blow. Watching the battle finally end with green light drowning inside the cavern. My knees give out with my entire body aching in pain, I was glad that this night was finally over.

It was more stress than I needed, or ever wanted.

"N-Ni-chan, your arm...!?" a squeaked voice makes my heart soften up, she was safe. "H-Hold on!"

Her fingers felt cool and refreshing on my swelling skin, letting my eyes close contently. I could feel myself melt when soothing energy swelled around my arm, slowly taking the pain away and losing all the steamed rage quickly. As it vanished in the pit of my stomach, well at least most of it.

"Nee-san, please don't do that again..."

I get an awkward and tense giggle from her as a reply to say yes, I wasn't too mad at my sister but Aigis on the other hand. There wasn't any way that I would let this or her behavior to my sister down. She was crossing the line and I wouldn't stand for it any further.

_"Just what was her problem with Nee-san anyway...?"_


	27. Gratitude

I personally found Pharos both endearing and a little unsettling in the female route, especially adding the little touch of "My dearest" it was rather heart warming and chilling.

Aha, such mixed feelings for this kid.

Anyways please enjoy! (I went back on my word and I actually started writing this right away... I'm just going to go with the flow here.)

* * *

**Chapter 27: Graditude**

8/7

"Mutatsu-san, you should really go home." the wretched sting of alcohol was burning my nose up with the loud buzzes of music and chatter all meshed in my ears. I wished that I could just drown this noise out with my headphones, but I wanted to listen to the other's words.

Each minute sitting in Escapade had my ears ringing, my nose crinkling and my head aching. I could only wince, imagining how the odd monk felt with his hungover headache.

I still really didn't know what appalled me to even look here in the first place or even bother talking to monk in the first place.

Though I did partly come out of curiosity but it was annoying when I heard that ringing voice. Telling me I forged a social link with the man, even if they were useful it was still peeving to know that I had no say in the matter. Making the social links with people I just met or known for just a short while.

Deciding who was more beneficial to spend time with was irksome; but in a way I guess it was also a blessing. Seeing that the people both my sister and I made social links with, shared or not, were quite interesting and together they would teach us many things. The other, who became involved with us would teach us new lessons, and we help them with their own lessons. Making us both grow and mature to a step closer to being maybe being normal. Seeing Minako so much happier to be surrounded by friends and though I would never admit out loud, it was nice being with them, having them with her at our sides. Even if some were a little loud for my liking at times.

"Yeah, you're right kid... I should go home and sleep," the man rubs his aging face that were sagged heavily with time and smoke, "But even if I go home..."

His words choke up in a raspy gasp with devastation wrinkled into his face.

"I completely forgot I have a memorial service to conduct... Reciting the Heart Sutra with a hangover ugh..." he rubs his face some more, trying to ease his growing headache, "Before, no matter how much I drank, all I needed was a cold shower to snap outta of it. Guess I'm gettin' old, heh..."

His laugh was dry despite the amount of liquor he drank moments ago.

"It's times like these I wish I didn't live alone..."

"What about the others...?"

"Others?" his lips twist into a bitter smile, "Heh, you mean the other monks? My temple's small, and I depend on nobody but myself. So, I'm the only one there."

It was no wonder why I always seemed to see the man drinking late at night.

"If you think about it, livin' alone's probably the best thing a person could do..." my fingers twitch to that, his words were so lonely. "You don't hafta wait for someone else to get outta the bathroom when ya need to go. My son took forever in there."

Again despite the smile on his lips, his eyes were vast and far. Looking and yearning for something.

"...Yeah, livin' alone is the way to achieve peace and serenity!" his dry chuckles begins to make me feel parched with grief, "...All things visible are bound to change and disappear, all things in this world are not singular. They're all smaller parts of a bigger picture."

He closes his eyes, content in thoughts. The exact thoughts sucked me right in, the man's words were often harsh but his words always reminded me who he was. An aged adult that follows time just like anyone else, and a monk who's seen the wrongs in his life.

"And yet, they're all different from each other. All things in this world are unique." he makes a bitter laugh with a light scowl in his eyes, "To put it simply, no matter how hard you try to live your life right. Someone else can always mess it up."

My fingers twitch, thinking about his words. I guess I wasn't here just out of curiosity, but rather just to look for some hidden advice. It takes a bit more effort to keep my face looking dazed with boredom staring at the other. Still intently listening to his words.

"All things are unique, yet they are not singular..." he chuckles again but this time it's a lot lighter than before, "Maybe you've messed up my life a bit, too."

I smile to that, he was harsh but kind and he always seemed to know what to say.

"Mutatsu-san, let me help you home."

x

*"*"*

Dark Hour

I wasn't sure why I was so anxious tonight, it may have been how brother was acting around both me and Aigis. I wasn't sure if he was still mad or if something else had happened last night.

Only that I was sitting on my knees, on top of still fresh and unfamiliar checkered-sheets of pink.

Almost like my body was telling me to stay awake and wait, wait for what I wasn't sure.

"Hi, how are you?"

My body doesn't jump, not even a beat in my heart skipped.

I just smile.

"Did you remember something again?" my eyes were warm, turning to look at Pharos who sat on the same pink-sheets. It was like he was nothing but a feather, as the bed never felt like it shifted or rather it felt like he was always there just invisible without the curtain of green light in the air.

"Mm hmm, the end won't be brought about by anyone in particular..." his feet swing at the side of the bed but his eyes were looking into mine, "It's coming because there are many people who wish for it, as if it was destined from the start."

His head tilts at me, with a smile on his lips. His eyes looking at me for an answer.

"But, doesn't that seem like a strange thing to wish for?"

I reach a hand out, gently stroking his black hair, it felt softer than feathers. Before answering his question, with a strong and firm tone that held up my voice.

"I sure don't want it."

"I see..." his eyes seem to glitter something I couldn't understand and his voice fluxes strangely. "So you don't want it..."

For a moment I thought that my words may have upset the other. As Pharos was a bit strange, actually really strange. Normal kids or people in general don't pop out of nowhere and often his words and expressions seemed to be mixed. But his face softens up, I guess I was just imagining things.

"Well, enough about that for now." my hand keeps stroking through the soft feathers of hair, "There's something else I wanted to tell you today..."

From here my fingers drop, looking at him curiously.

"Soon, poisonous flowers will bloom, one in your own garden," a small finger waves to me, "And three in the garden opposite of yours."

_"Poisonous flowers...?"_ my heart thumped warily, I wasn't entirely sure what to think of his words.

"I don't know whether or not this has anything to do with the end, but you should be careful."

"Thank you," my hands ruffle his hair lovingly, I would make sense of this another time. "You seem to always look out for me."

The child giggles under my finger's touch, smiling happily to me.

"I'm happy to hear that from you," his small hands moves my hand away, "I'll come again if I find out anything useful. That's what friends are for right?"

I laugh softly to that, he wasn't too far off but I didn't really have the heart to tell him he was wrong or not.

"Well then, good night." his hand lightly brushes the wavy auburn strands that flowed over my shoulders, "My dearest..."

The pale child vanishes to that, leaving me with small chills to his words. He wasn't someone I felt nervous around, only that, he seemed and felt like something more. More than what he looked, far from anything but a child.

I shake the feeling away, feeling weary seep back into my body and shifting around to get under the covers.

_"I wonder how he knows us...?"_

x

8/8

"Aah," I rub an eye still feeling tired, "Mm, I'm still sleepy..."

"Ko-tan, you pretty much slept through the entire day!" someone, I think Junpei pats me hard on the back with a hearty laugh. "Are you finally showing your true self? Has the Minatwins become one!?"

Definitely Jun-chan.

"Ha ha, very funny." jokingly I roll my eyes at him, "You make it sound like me and Ni-chan have super powers or something... Oh, and what are we up here for again?"

My back lazily leans into the cushions of the sofa, feeling relaxed. It bothered me a little that I felt so tired though.

"Man, just how long did you sleep? Mitsuru-senpai called us all-"

"Huh!?" Yukari and Fuuka jump up, looking startled towards the door. Just when I was about to ask them what's wrong an energetic bark sounds in the room, waking me completely up with delight.

Turning my eyes to where theirs were to see a white shiba wearing a white vest with wings and a collar that had something attached to it.

"Koro-chan!?" Fuuka's the second to kneel next to the dog, the other being brother, who was already nuzzling the dog's fur with pure affection. "Are you okay!? Where'd you get this collar?"

I giggle a little at how overjoyed and panicked Fuuka was, honestly too cute for words.

"That collar is designed to help control his persona. In other words it's a evoker for dogs."

This time I'm the one to shoot up, hearing Mit-nee's words. It couldn't be.

"Wait, does that mean he'll be going into battle?" Yukari took the words right out of my mouth.

"It was a surprise for me as well." Mit-nee's dark red eyes glanced down to where Koromaru sat, being fawned over by Fuuka and Minato. "But according to the tests, it's quite possible, in fact it was the chairman's suggestion. We'll be looking after him here in the dorms."

This I was jumping to, seeing Yuu join in with the two, probably purring lazily at our newcomer.

"Are you okay with this Koro-chan?" Fuuka's fingers seemed to disappear in the dog's clean fur, Koromaru in response only gave her a bright bark.

"He said 'I'll return the favor' "

"Man, you're on loyal dog." I agreed with Yukari, he really is.

"Hey, make yourself at home..." Jun-chan's standing too now, chuckling loudly, "The more the merrier, right? Who cares if you're a dog?"

I see brother snicker to that, one that I was holding back in. The dorm was really starting to get crowded, but it wasn't bad.

"Alright, I'll take him for a walk. It's summer break after all!"

"Yes, it is." Mit-nee smiles looking at everyone, "Enjoy your vacation while you can, summer classes start next week. I'll see to it that you graduate."

"E-eh...?" I blink a few times staring at her.

"H-Hey," Jun-chan's face was sweating with an awkward laugh on his face, "Good one, senpai... You almost had me there."

I couldn't see Mit-nee the type to joke. Especially when thinking about Jun-chan's marks, this is going to be a long summer.

"Oh, it's no joke." I knew it, "We'll be taking intensive courses, I've already applied for all of us. I know how difficult it's been balancing school and our late night excursions."

I shift on my toes, did I have to take the lessons too?

"You haven't had much time to study, I apologize for that." her eyes look to Fuuka and Yukari, "That's why the chairman agrees this is a good idea, I thought I told Takeba and Yamagishi."

This is the first I heard of it.

"Umm, sorry I forgot to mention it."

"W-Wait um, M-Mit-nee, am I signed up for these...?" my fingers fidget, I wasn't really sure whether I wanted to go or not. It would be nice to have some time without Aigis constantly dragging brother apart but, to relearn and study in this hot weather. I don't think I really was fond of the idea either.

I felt really uneasy when she looked at me for what felt like hours that were just seconds.

"Actually, the chairman suggested to let you rest for the mean time and focus on your training outside of the dark hour..." she thinks for a bit, "You've mastered most of bufu and dia... I'm not quite sure what next to suggest for your... Training."

"Aw man, why only her!?" I take a step to the side a bit, feeling a little bad about not joining in on the 'fun'.

"Er, I-I'll just try hama-spells, i-is that okay?" I felt like my question was more directed to brother, as my eyes wandered over to him. He was monotonous in looks but he seemed to be fine with it, letting me breathe a little easier.

I was pretty sure it was going to get a lot harder to figure out how to use the rest of the spells. Particularly the ones that could go out of control, like agi and zio.

I guess only time would only tell.

x

*"*"*

8/11

_"The irony..."_ for once my face wasn't lying flat on the table, instead from the heat I was slouched back and tugging at my collar in attempts to cool off. All the while listening to Edogawa drone on about the Tarot. Quite ironic, with how intertwined these exact card meanings became this year. Be it the full moon, shadows or just social links.

"Spiritual death awaits the individual with the thirteenth card, which is aptly named Death." my back straightens out, "Death is considered a transitional card... The old ends and the new begins."

Something didn't sit well with me, my heart seemed to pace down.

I couldn't understand why though.

x

8/15

"Paw-five!" we're greeted by a lively laugh, Minako was cooing over Koromaru with a empty dog bowl that was sitting between the two of them. "Huh? Oh! Ni-chan!"

Two pair of red eyes look over to me, both seemed to be sparkling.

"Ni-chan look look!" she huffs with a smile kneeling closer to the dog and holding her hand out to the white shiba, "Koro-chan, paw-five!"

To my disbelief the dog raises his front paw and presses on her palm, mimicking the gesture perfectly for a dog. Getting a snicker out of me, the two seemed to smile.

"Meow?" a cat from behind paws itself on my leg, making me jump. Seeing Yuu, the gray cat latched on the back of my leg playfully with his claws.

"Aww, look! Yuu wants you to join us!"

I hiss a little feeling the cat's claw dip lightly into my skin and bend down to give the cat a light pat to get off.

"So how'd class go for you guys?"

"Glad, that torture's finally over!" Junpei was too melodramatic, especially when he pretends to collapse onto the ground from relief. Just how much did the other hate learning?

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad..." sis brushes her hand the other's head, I was relieved that she was wearing shorts instead of skirt right then. She claps her hands with a cheery wide grin, "Oh! That's right, there's a festival at the shrine... How's that for a comeback to summer?"

Right on cue the other jumps with joy to this.

"Hehe, does that mean we're going to have everyone in..." I tug hard at the back of his shirt, "Yeeowh! H-Hey! What's big idea!?"

I roll my eyes as an answer.

x

*"*"*

8/16

"Ta-daa!" my body spins, quite easily despite how constricted the yukata was. I was so happy when Mit-nee let me borrow one of her old ones, it wasn't too worn out and it was a gorgeous color of red, with white and pink flowers drawn all over it. It was tough to get on but I think it was worth it, looking over it on my body. "Hey Ken, are you sure you don't want to come together...?"

My traveled over to the boy, he was sitting on the couch reading something. The brunette didn't seem to be that interested in having fun or spending any real time with us, but to me it just looked like he was holding back and upholding that mask of maturity.

"No, I'm fine." his eyes never leave the page, "Please have fun."

It was a little upsetting to see someone so young do that.

"Aw, but it'll be fun...?" maybe if I just pushed a little bit, he would warm up.

But from the way shifted in the couch, I think it had the opposite effect.

"I'm alright." he turns the page, still not looking up. Ken might be tougher than Minato in terms of stubbornness, my eyes look down to Yuu. Giving him a sign and trusting him with Ken.

The cat lets out a small mewl, and paws his way over to Ken. Curling to his side and getting comfy.

_"Good boy!"_ my lips hold back a big smile, seeing the child lightly shift to give Yuu more room and to reach down to scratch the cat's head softly.

x

*"*"*

"...It's so crowded." my hands were stuffed into my pockets, staring around the place a little annoyed. "Why couldn't we just go when the girls were done changing..."

The capped teen chuckles making me feel even more annoyed.

"Minato, tsk, tsk." his finger waves in my face, "You don't understand the wonders of a yukata, the way it looks so hard to walk in on ladies..."

My right eye was covered my blue fringe, letting it twitch in irritation without worry of the other. I honestly was tempted to smack him just then, the way he was drooling over his words was making me feel sick and claustrophobic.

I don't, instead just sigh and try my best to drone his words out. Looking around for anything to distract me, which was pretty easy with all the games and people moving around. _"How long has it been since I went to a festival...?"_

I felt my lips curve slightly, seeing two children; a boy and a girl stand around near the tall wall of masks. Reminiscing about the time when me and Minako did the same, back when we were still able to live like two ordinary kids.

My lips purse up to that, I really needed to stop thinking so much about the past.

I let out a loud groan, making the other's buzzing stop.

"I'm going to walk around a bit," my fingers tangle through my hair, "Just give me a call if you need me."

I don't bother to wait for a reply, just turning on my heel to get away to somewhere quiet and less crowded. Stepping down the stone step, wandering a little off near the trees.

My arms fling up and my back curls until I feel it make a popping crack noise, feeling a little better with the silence. I look for somewhere to sit, somewhere that I wouldn't be seen to easily so I could think. Just a little in the shadows, I found a nice rock to sit on, not to closed off from the light of the festival but far enough to making the noise become muffled in my ears.

"Ugh," I could feel my lips tremble a bit, "...What should I do...?"

My back falls onto the cold stone, making me shiver a little from the sudden icy touch on my hot skin. I close my silver eyes, engrossing myself in the darkness.

I was thinking hard about the sudden appearance of those people, Strega. They were definitely dangerous but that wasn't my only worry, Aigis was another problem. She was calculative but lacked understanding of the heart, not that she could really help that part but it was still troublesome. Particularly my biggest worry and problem about her was how she acted around us, me and sister.

She acted like she's seen us both before, yet treats Minako as a threat. Making the team layout unstable and more dangerous, something that I want to fix. Yet whenever I looked at the blonde robot and how my sister acted, I always seemed to act on impulse rather than reason.

My palms brush under my fringe, soaking them up in my face's warmth.

"Mom... Dad, what should I do?" my voice was croaking as if I was ready to cry and I was. I wanted to cry so much, just let everything out, that this wasn't fair and I didn't want to do this anymore. That I was tired, tired of everything and just wanted to live a normal life.

But I couldn't, I needed to stay strong. Not until Minako was still unsure of her place or of me, of our family. I can't let myself break again here, not after all the progress we had now.

"You again?" a low voice growled, making me shoot up from the cool slab. My eyes are still trying to adjust with the night light pouring into them, now that they were open. But I recognized that voice.

Shinjiro Aragaki.

I nearly laugh at how the other always seemed to show up when I was weak, vulnerable and lost.

"Hello." I felt my lips smile, feeling lighter suddenly. "It's good to see you again too."

The other merely grunts, not that I minded. I found I wasn't really in the mood to really talk either and the silence felt warmer than before, with the presence of another nearby.

I could feel myself reaching an answer already, as if the tall man's presence was calming my senses down completely and telling me the answer through breaths.

My face was washed with gratitude, even if the other didn't realize it. I was glad for his presence, my lips open in a bright grin and I look to him with glowing eyes.

"Thanks."


	28. Seed

We're actually moving pretty smoothly, though again I apologize if there's delays in the updates aha. I've been neglecting my work lately and have been suffering for it, but I'm so close to finally gathering all the members... Ah... The temptation...

Enough about that, please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 28: Seed  
**

7/19

"...Please... wait a little longer." the elder man was snoring with his head cradled on his arm and his wooden pipe loosely held in his hand. His glasses were pushed up to scrunch softly at the wrinkled and old skin on his face, Bunkichi was sleeping soundly. I try not to giggle so I wouldn't wake him up.

"...Even if," his words were mumbled through snores, "The tree is gone... You still live on... inside us..."

My feet shift closer to him, feeling worried now. _"Wasn't tree going to be saved...?"_

That tree, the persimmon tree that was in the school yard; the one that was started brother and my bond with the old couple at Bookworms. The tree that was Bunkichi and Mitsuko's late son's last memento, their precious memory of him. My fingers clenched tightly enough to hurt, the tree shouldn't be gone.

The floor creaks loudly under my feet, startling Bunkichi awake.

"...Oh, Minako-chan, you're here?" the man hunches up off his old arms, looking at me behind his thick-rimmed glasses. "You could've just woken me up... Or did you want to just want to watch me while I was asleep?"

He chuckles heartily to his joke, letting out a content-sounding sigh.

"I feel relieved now, probably because the problem has been solved."

"W-What problem?"

The other gives me a light smile that makes my heart drop, "I'm deeply touched that you and so many other people tired to help us, Minako-chan, but we sent a letter to Gekkoukan."

My eyes widen, they didn't.

"...I told them to cut the permission tree down."

"WHY!?" my voice broke into a higher and uneven pitch, I was sure my face was twisted with grief and confusion. _"Why would they throw away their last memory of their son!?"_

To further my confused heart the elder give me a cheerful laugh, grinning at me with his old teeth.

"Wow, you should've seen your reaction, Minako-chan! It was a totally worth it to surprise you like that!"

I'm completely speechless, unsure whether he was joking or serious about what he said prior still. But he answers my question with a sullen expression.

"Sorry we did it without asking you or Minato-chan." his eyes narrow into a daze, "...Recently, I went to visit the permission tree, and I met a student on my way back. He told me the school is planning to build a new addition."

He lets out a hefty sigh.

"It would be selfish of an old man like me to deprive those young people of new learning opportunities, helping those kids is more important than hanging onto his memory."

My body drops mentally, his last words echoed in my head: _Helping those kids is more important than hanging onto his memory._

Was it really true, was thinking about the present better than holding onto the memory of the past? My jaws tighten so I wouldn't scowl at the elders, I couldn't understand why or how they could do such a thing. Giving up something so precious, a dear memory of their son.

"I think it'd make our son happy, too. He was a teacher after all!" my thoughts are scrambled and I toss myself back into the conversation. I saw Bunkichi have the most content smile on his face and even Mitsuko was smiling happily, "We're hoping, as we believe our son in heaven is too, that more kind students like you and Minato-chan, will graduate from Gekkoukan."

I try to smile back to them, but I still didn't understand why they went through this pain.

Both Bunkichi and Mitsuko fumble around for something, going through a paper bag before they smile even brighter at me.

"Please, take this." one in each of their wrinkled kind hands were two firm fruits, persimmons. "These are first fruits produced by the persimmon tree. They're a little rough around the edges, like our son."

The man laughs.

"Mitsuko is the one who suggested we give them to you and Minato-chan." he chuckles again looking to Mitsuko, "It must have been fate that the tree produced two fruits, for our two little angels."

"B-Bunki-jii...! Mitsu-baa!" my face is flustered and my hands wave in front of them clumsily, "I-I couldn't possibly take something so precious...!"

"Nonsense! Minako-chan, if you and Minato-chan never came here," the man chuckles, "We could have never been able to do this!"

His words confused me further, how did our involvement do anything?

"That's right," Mitsuko despite the years in her face smiled beautifully, "Please, take it."

Their eyes made it hard to refuse any further, as my hands had two fruits shoved into them with warmth and affection. The wasn't anything I could say, looking at the two of them speechless. The persimmons in my hands weren't soft but not hard, in fact it was just firm and ripe with color and of life.

My heart felt like it froze, hearing something whisper in my head.

_The innermost power of the Hierophant Arcana hath been set free._

It felt like a surge of power swelled inside my heart, almost painfully ready to burst. Yet, it didn't hurt and I clutched the two small fruits in my hands close to my chest, smiling.

x

*"*"*

"Ohhh, you're laaaate..." the man's breath was hiccuped and intoxicated, "Whaaashup, kid?"

His breath was reeking of alcohol, more than usual.

"Don't you think ish..." his eyes are unfocused at me, "Rude to maaake shum'one wait?"

I was about to speak up to Mutatsu, and how the monk should head home right now but his next words make my lips snap shut from shock.

"Didn't Dad tell you not to do that, ehhh?"

"Dad?" involuntarily my lips question that first, even though I knew he was probably mistaking me as his son. I shouldn't be surprised like this.

"Eh...?" the monk in his drunken state smiled. He smiled the brightest and happiest smile I've ever seen on his face, "Dad? Did you jush call me Dad?"

He let out the happiest laugh I've heard from him, it was full of delight and life.

"You alwasysh call me an ol' bashtard... But," he hiccuped, looking like he was in near tears of joy just then and still smiling. "You're all nishe whenver ya need shum money..."

I bite my lips, no wonder the monk had always been alone.

"I thought you got in an acshident or shumthin'..." his face twists with grief, "Don't make me worry like that."

My body shifts a little uncomfortable to the bold kindness that shone through the other, more used to his harsh front and not used to being shown such a face.

A loving and worried face of a parent.

"What the hell were ya doin' thish late!?" I straighten up in a jolt, a little unprepared for the man's angry shout and scorn. But from instinct my switch turns on and my voice snaps at him harshly with a cold tone.

"_None of your business._" my fingers quickly cover my lips, not meaning what I said. For a moment I was worried that I'd angered a drunken monk but again, to my surprise rather than looking offended the drunk smiled, strangely looking impressed.

"W-well thash true... It's none of my businessh..." he let another hiccup, "But, watch your mouth! Who the hell do you think raised you!?"

I flinch and felt like I was shrinking in size, but it looked like Mutatsu was slowly snapping out of his drunken daze. Squinting his eyes at me looking confused for a moment.

"YOU...?" he rubs his temples, trying to sober himself up, "Damn, all this time I thought you were... I guess my eyesight is getting bad, after all..."

I don't move, _"So he was mistaking me as his son..."_

"...Spending all my time with clients... missing anniversaries and birthdays..." the man grumbles with sorrowed eyes, that caught my attention the most, "I wonder if they felt the same way I did, as I waited for you earlier..."

"...Your wife and son?"

He makes a dry chuckle, staring far away with glazed eyes. "It's been four years since they left... I used to stay home past midnight, and when I got home, my wife and I would get into a big argument..."

My lips dip a little, tinged by his sadness.

"Now when I go home, I don't know what to do with myself, so I just come here and drink every night."

All of this felt familiar to me, my lips curve all the way and my brows furrow with displeasure.

"Are you running away?"

"...Yeah, you're absolutely right. I shaved my head but it's only for show." his laughter was bitter but sheepish, "I get drunk to avoid facing my problems... So, yeah, I guess you can say I'm running away."

What a sad story, but I guess it was the harsh reality that there were many people that did this; that just wanted to run away.

"She hasn't called me or sent me a letter since then. She must've gotten over me..." his face was pitiful and made me shiver from how regretful he was, "Who knows where they are... or if they want to see me..."

I thought for moment, maybe he could look for them and maybe talk to them. The chances were slim but they weren't hopeless to me, so I could try and coax the other to at least try.

"Aw, forget it. It's too much of hassle anyway." maybe I would try after I climb over the man's stubbornness. "Alright, kid, let's get outta here."

I was hopeful that it would work out in the end.

x

8/23

"Akinari!" my sister's steps were skips as she was bouncing with plastic bags in her hands, up the stone steps of the shrine and towards a thin-looking man. Wearing a striped shirt, his skin was pale in complexion and his shoulder-length hair was grayed with something that smelled like misery. "I brought some popsicles, want some?"

The other makes a thin smile, lightly shaking his head to turn down her offer.

"You're... not like the others."

Minako sits down next him, already opening a wrapper with a chilly popsicle in it, with her head tilted at him but her lips in a smile.

"You think so?"

The other smiled brightly, "I honestly didn't expect you to come back."

_"Ah..."_ I step closer to the two, but stand. _"Now I see why she was so caught up on wanting to go the shrine."_

"Hehe," she giggles looking over to me, "Well I did! And I brought Ni-chan too, this is Minato, I told you about him last time 'member?"

He smiled thinly again, but it still held its warmth. Now that I looked into his eyes directly I could see the faint line of agony, pain of loneliness. Maybe that was why she was drawn to such a deathly-looking man, maybe it was reminding her of the past without her realizing.

No, I'm just over thinking it. This was my sister, right now she was an open-book. Easily read by anyone, easily hurt by anyone.

"Nice to meet you." my voice is monotonous, not really sure how to think about the other. Oddly he smiled at me too, despite my rather cold shoulder that offended most. In fact the one, she called Akinari looked at me with dimmed lit eyes.

"Ah, you two have the same eyes..." he makes a soft chuckle that felt like it could easily break, "Nobody treats me like a normal guy... not even my family."

His eyes were faraway again, longing at the sky.

"I can tell by how they look at me. The pity in their eyes is unmistakable." his dull blue becomes blazed and clear, "I don't need their sympathy any more than I need their curiosity."

I take another step closer, it was incredible thinking about the number of people we've met so far that we could empathize with. But at the same, I found it sad to think of so many that were in pain right at this moment, and yet, there wasn't anything I could do.

"...I'm sorry but," his eyes daze down, "I don't expect anyone to pity me."

This person was already amazing me.

"Dying isn't so unusual, is it? What is there to gain by staying in this world for a long time, anyway?"

Those words made me worry, peeking over to Minako. It felt lately as though she had been becoming better, but fear still lingered on my heart that she would crumble apart.

"...Hmm, you may be right." her feet swung a little, with a popsicle-stick chewed between her teeth. Her answer shocked me, I never expected her of all people to say such a thing.

That death isn't awful.

More so, knowing that she should have her fears still clinging onto her, like I was. Unless; unless that the time here, has already healed her scars and pushed her to a different place.

Away from me.

"...You must have a hopelessness festering inside you as well, then." clashing with his words, Akinari smiled, brimming with life. "I can't remember a time without it."

His grief was enough to smother me, it was almost as if heavy weights were pinned onto my skin and tearing it off slowly. It hurt to see.

"Hey, thanks for coming today." he lets out a hefty sigh, still looking somewhere far, "You don't seem like everyone else... I'm not sure how to describe it exactly, but..."

His eyes, for a mere brief moment seem to focus back onto the present. To where we were living right now, at the park, near the shrine and in the sunlight.

"You don't look down on me the way everyone else does..."

Something I haven't heard in a while happens, a loud crash in my head rings inside my ears and a card flips out; the Sun.

_Thou art I... And I am thou..._

There was the voice again, starting up its usual lines when this happened.

_Thou hast established a new bond...  
Thou shalt be bless when creating persona of the sun arcana._

This was still really annoying.

The other coughs loudly into a fit, making my thoughts break up. Looking over to him with panic and worry, not knowing if he was actually ill or not. We really made friends with unique people.

x

*"*"*

8/28

"K-Koro-chan! Wait for me!" I was running up the stairs, we ended up staying out for a walk for too long and now we were both late for the meeting that was upstairs. "K-Koro-chan!"

The white dog disappears into the room, leaving me to run in exhausted with a red face.

_"I am so going to get you for this...!"_ my lungs whine at me, it was hard not to tumble and trip on the stairs but I really was late enough. To my dismay, I trip at the last moment just when I was about to enter the room. "E-Eek!"

I push my hands out in front of me and kick my legs up, not wanting to hit my face, I do the next and most stupid thing to falling. I did a mid-back-flip to somersault into the room.

In front of everyone in the room, rolling off my back and landing on my knees.

I was positive my face was even redder and this time, it wasn't just from running all the way up to the forth floor.

"T-Ta-da...?" my hands were held loosely with a crooked nervous smile, though I forget my embarrassment when I see Ken was in the room too. _"Why is Ken here...?"_

Brother coughs, making me shuffle up to my feet with a awkward giggle.

"S-So, what'd I miss...?" my fingers fumble with each other and my head is lowered, "I-I'm sorry, I won't be late again...!"

"Now, now," Ikutsuki-san laughed to me, it felt a little heavy in the room so his laugh felt out of place. Then again, whenever I heard it, it always felt out of place, almost like it wasn't belonging. "It's quite fine, I called this meeting to introduce our new member of the squad."

His gaze went over to Ken that was standing straight and silently, peeking glances over everyone.

_"Wait, did Ikutsuki-san just mention new member but then-!"_

"Amada joined of his free will." Minato was reading my mind practically, answering my question but his posture seemed jagged despite being slouched. He seemed to be thinking about something but what? He lets out a long sigh, "This is a little tricky but Yukari, you and Amada will be with Nee-san."

My lips open into an 'oh', so he was thinking about the setup of teams again.

"Koro, Junpei you're both with her too."

That part made my face twist in confusion, last time he said that the two shouldn't be put together with their weapons and abilities.

"Nee-san, just trust me." I guess my face looked worse than I thought, "Aki, Kirijo and Aigis are a strong combo so we're not lacking strength."

He pulls his legs up onto the couch he was sitting on, with his face buried in his thoughts and as he slowly lost himself in them as he talked.

"Personally, having a good healer would be good... but element weakness... and then there's weapons..." he glared hard at the floor, losing himself entirely in thought, "...Wouldn't work... but then there's... and..."

I snorted, going into a small laughing fit.

I've never seen him be so immersed into something.

*"*"*

Good, she bought it.

My mumbling seemed to get everyone's eyes on me but to them I was just acting as the leader. In truth I was worried, worried out of mind cause this terrible clinging feeling I had in my chest.

Ken Amada, there was something in his face that made me tinge with fear.

Not of the other, but what could happen in the future.

It might have been from how over-mature he was, or how I was given a peek at his past. But that didn't matter right now.

No matter what it was that tugged at my instincts, I could only keep watch for now, but if the fears became reality, I wouldn't hesitate.

This was to protect her after all, I wouldn't let her get hurt and I wouldn't let anyone hurt her.


	29. Sprout

Finally, finally at this point. I have been waiting so long to reach around here... (Though this is just the few of the ones I want to get to... Aha, we're getting there though.)

Little bit of a short chapter this time.

But please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 29: Sprout  
**

8/29

"Man, this year's going fast. It's already second semester." he sighed out loudly next to me, making my head hurt a little still drowsy and the scent of the flowers from the florist shop wasn't exactly helping me wake up. "And next year, we'll be seniors..."

The other suddenly stops next to me, making my footsteps halt as well.

"Junpei what's-"

"That girl..." his eyes were staring off to a strange red-head that wore a white gothic-lolita styled dress. In her hair were white ribbons and a headband with ruffles that had a long needle attached to it. Something that could easily be mistaken as her head being stabbed though, in her hands was a sketchbook and her brown eyes were focused deeply onto what she was drawing.

"She's drawing again..."

I watch him walk off, ditching me to go closer to the other rather peculiar-looking girl. Not that I really minded, he seemed pretty mesmerized and I had things I wanted to think about.

"...You again?" my feet sway a little, hearing how aggressive the girl's voice was.

I could see in the corner of my eye Junpei was stuttering on his words, that didn't seem like him but it seemed like something he would do. I nearly chuckle to that. He seemed to have said something that I couldn't hear.

"Same here..." the girl, she sounded even odder now. Even without the tone from before, it felt a little empty.

I decided to leave, Junpei could find me later.

x

Dark Hour

"Hello." my eyes peek through the green rays, it was him again. I should have figured. "I thought I'd remind you... The next full moon will be in one week."

I really wish everyone around me would stop constantly nagging at me about it, something that important is hard to forget. You would have to be clumsily forgetful to not remember about the full moon.

"Are you ready...?" his voice made me shiver despite still being under the sheets, "Only a few trails remain... So, be careful."

Creepy brat.

"I look forward to seeing you both again."

He vanishes again, making it seem like there was nothing but thin air here. I hated him.

He wasn't human and I couldn't tell what he was.

Only that he was something unnatural.

x

*"*"*

9/1

"...How did I miss this for so long...?" I was standing in the back alleyway of the Paulownia Mall, staring straight at the blue door that glowed dimly with a faint light. "...I guess I'm just in the strip mall too much..."

I twist the door's handle, opening it. Closing myself off from the real world into the velvet room, a place I haven't seen for a while, other than the few times I've gone inside when we went to the Tartarus. Brother could have been nice enough to tell me that there was another entrance right here, during the daytime.

"Welcome to the Velvet room." the voices were in union, "How may we help you, today?"

I smiled brightly seeing the two siblings in front of me, they were strange but really fun to talk to. Before I spoke up I noticed someone else in the room, a boy, I think, was hiding behind Igor's velvet seat.

"Who's this?" my eyes perk with interest, I didn't know there were more people besides brother and I that came here.

I get silence as a answer, making me fidget a little, wondering if I did something wrong by pointing out his presence. Then the other peers out from behind, stepping shyly in front, startling me a little when I see a paper-bag with a scribbled picture on it.

"...Is that a dog?" my fingers touch my lips in thought and I kneel down closer to see his make-shift mask but also get a better look at the other, himself.

He seemed quite tall for his age but still shorter than me, it felt like he was at least two years younger than me, he was wearing all grays and blacks, making him seem a bit gloomy. He wore rather odd clothes at that, everything was too big for him, his gray-sweatpants were rolled up so he wouldn't trip over them and his black hoodie was baggy and covered up his arms. Everything about him stood out but at the same he could blend in completely if he tried enough.

I didn't understand why he hid his entire head under that paper bag though.

He nods, answering my question. I guess he was just overly-shy, which was a bit cute to me, making me giggle softly.

"So, is this your friend?" my lips smile warmly, I was happy to know they knew someone else too.

"Mm," the boy turns his head, at least I think he did towards Igor. Staring at him for a moment through the strange bag, before he paces over between Theo and Elizabeth, loosely gripping onto the fabric of their clothes. "...Friends."

The other two in blue, smile softly to him. I wondered if they've known him for a while or not.

"I'm Minako, you can call me Ko-chan if you want," I hold a hand out to the smaller boy, "It's nice to meet you."

The boy hesitates, looking up to Elizabeth and Theo. Exposing his pale skinned-neck for a brief moment, before looking back to me and giving me a light nod.

"...Inugami."

I blink, not understanding if that was his name or he was talking about the persona.

"Name." he nods, still rather cutely clinging onto parts of the two attendants' clothes.

"...Then Inu-kun?" my eyes still smiled to him, he stays silent and just nods again. "I hope we can all get along, alright?"

Maybe I could bring Yuu along too, I'm sure Theo and Elizabeth and my new friend would love to meet him.

*"*"*

"I'm back!" the door clicks shut, as sis walks in. She looked happier than usual, making me wonder if something good happened. "Uh, did I miss something...?"

Her red eyes blink quickly, before staying wide and open. Staring over to where Aigis was standing, wearing the school uniform.

Inwardly I groan.

"Aigis is going to school tomorrow," I stretch my arms up in my seat, "For _Ikutsuki'_s research..."

I still couldn't believe he would take Yukari's joke so seriously, there are just some things in the world I couldn't understand. Some things I should just not bother, or I might just go crazy.

"And Aigis wants to... 'Synchronize' her schedule with everyone else..." I hold back my painful sigh, this was too much of a hassle but I needed to endure. I was pretty sure my time with Minako would be cut down at school too.

She must have thought the same thing, as her pep drops.

"As precaution, Aigis..." my eyes narrow, I was still sour towards her, "Don't leave my sight tomorrow, and please don't do anything weird..."

"Understood."

I felt like she wouldn't keep her word, not knowing what was weird or not. I let out a short and breathless sigh.

x

9/2

"I see. This must be Tartarus during the daytime." I yawn loudly, half-listening to her words.

"It's a school..." my lips dip into a frown, not only was I tired but I had this to worry about.

"I see." the girl's eyes stare at me, before nodding, "I shall record that in my memory bank."

May the gods for once be kind and let this day go without troubles.

x

"Class, we have a new student who will be joining us." Toriumi's eyes looking down at the papers in her hands, before looking over to Aigis that stood next to her. "She just transferred here."

_"It's almost like that bastard wants to be murdered..."_ my face is sullen and stoic, but inside I was clenching back my irritation.

"...Please introduce yourself."

Aigis steps a bit closer to the front, before she spoke. "My name is Aigis. I am pleased to meet you all."

I was particularly relieved that the robot could pass off as a foreigner, no one could question her speech that way.

But it could do only so much.

"Aigis... What a strange name, I wonder if she was born overseas." if only Toriumi knew, the teacher flips through her papers again. "Let's see... Anything I should know...?"

I had a bad feeling drop in my stomach.

"Hm?" her face twists, perplexed, "...Humanoid tactical weapon? What on Earth...?"

I choke, but cover it up with a cough. Ikutsuki was really asking for death, you would think it's hard to miss something like THAT.

"...Clearly that's a mistake," I breathed easier, thank god this teacher was logical and most normal out of the school, "It just goes to show, you can't believe everything you read."

I sighed, we're safe for now.

"Let's see, you can sit..." Toriumi looks over the class, stopping in my direction, "Ooh, that spot's open. Right next to him."

My eyes deadpan, you had to kidding me.

"Uh, Ms. Toriumi, that's spots already taken." Junpei calls out before Aigis even moved, "He's just playin' hookey."

The woman's eyes turn cold, making everyone flinch. I take it back, she's not normal either, she's deadly when angry.

"...Which means he's not here." her voice was reserved but made me shiver at how demanding it sounded, "So, it's free to be used, right?"

The class was silence, if not for the footsteps of Aigis' shoes. She sat down in a rather, awkward looking motion before scanning around the desk and smiling a little.

"This spot will be perfect..." her eyes look up to me, making me twitch. She wouldn't, "My highest priority is to be with this person, at all times."

She did.

I felt like smashing my head on the table, maybe it could knock me out and send me to the nurse's office. Anything, anywhere other than here right now.

x

I rush out the class right away, not wanting to deal with Aigis or gossips. Running over to the gate where Aki texted me to stop by, quietly I punch in a new message for Minako. Telling her to head home before me, and that I would be helping 'Aki-nii' out.

When I reach the front gate, I saw Aki looking rather annoyed and carried a silver suitcase.

Odd.

"There you are." he walks over to me, tapping his feet with irritation. "There's something I have to do, and I want you to come with me."

It seemed rather urgent, "Alright."

x

I look to Aki rather confused when he walks us to the Hagakure in the strip mall. Not sure how a ramen-shop would be urgent and important, but then someone walks out.

It was Shinjiro.

The moment he spots us, or rather Aki his face scowls. "You're getting on my nerves!"

His words confused me, I still wasn't sure of what was going on.

"The situation has changed. Sorry, but this time, I'm not asking." Aki throws the suitcase to the other's chest, "This belongs to you."

I make a short gasp, finally recognizing where I've seen that case before. It was the same one that was given to Minako and me when we first joined SEES. Did that mean Shinjiro was a persona-user? A former member?

_"But then, why did he leave...?"_

"We have a new enemy, they're persona-users, like us." my face twists again, why was he mentioning Strega here of all places. It didn't seem like Shinjiro cared much either, giving only a groan and threatening growl as a response. "And Ken Amada has joined our team."

To this the other reacted, making a bitter taste in my mouth. Everything about this was fishy.

"He has the potential, and Ikutsuki-san has okayed it. He's now a persona-user."

It felt really uncomfortable standing so lost in this conversation, just barely keeping up. I would just bare with it and fish out information, this was important and something didn't sit well with me. Especially how Aki mentioned Amada and how the other reacted to his name.

Shinjiro lets out a groan, before letting his scowl lighten a bit. "Let me ask you one thing... was it his decision to join SEES?"

"Yeah, he volunteered."

My eyes were heavily locked onto the other man's face, watching carefully to see if there was something I needed to know. But he only sighs before he seems to give in.

"I see... Then count me in." he looks at me straight in the face, making me shrink a little. I could never get used to how his height only a bit taller, felt like he was towering straight over me. "So, you're the one leading the operations now, huh?"

"...One of them." my voice was low, I wasn't really positive at how Minako was going to react to the other joining. If I were right, she might have felt his persona back then.

But then, just what was that spooked her so much. Enough to make her go into a anxiety attack?

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you fighting for?"

His question catches me off guard but it didn't matter I knew my answer.

"To protect someone." my answer would never change, I was resolved to die before letting my sister go.

"Is that so?" he huffs, "Well you do your thing, I'll do mine."

What a straight-forward guy, I should avoid putting him together with Aki. The two both seemed like they would charge into things and seeing how they were bitter to each other, that was only more so of a reason to not team them up together...

I smack my face hard, making my palm make a loud slap and the two looking at me confused.

"...I can't believe I'm rearranging teams, again." my chuckle was dry, I wondered just why I was even bothering to try with this. "Anyway can we just go, my head's spinning..."

*"*"*

"Jun-chan, you don't do that!" my cheeks were puffed out, "You square it here, come on! Ken did it just fine and he's younger than you man!"

I got a few embarrassed chuckles out of the said other, making my lips curl happily.

"But gosh," my head turns to the door, "Ni-chan and Aki-nii are sure taking a while..."

Just as I say that the door swings open, making me jump and dropping my pen and notebook to the ground. I get jog over to the door, but stop seeing someone I didn't expect to see with the two.

"N-Nee-san, uh, this is-"

"Shinji-nii!" I tackle the beanie'd other, giving him a full-out hug, "It's good to see you again!"

I giggle happily when he grunts and tries to pry me off.

"...Nee-san, you, know him...?"

"Mm," to this I unlatch myself, looking over to brother. "I met Shinji-nii at Hagakure, he and Aki-nii were talking about something, then I met him a while again after my hair came undone."

He gave me a strange look, like I was lying. Which was strange, but what was stranger was...

"Why's Shinji-nii here?"

"H-He'll be joining us, and Nee-san he'll be teamed on your team." brother seemed to still fluster over something, I wonder if there was something he was worried about?

Actually now that I looked at him carefully, he seemed rather tired and pale.

"Ni-chan, you should go to bed early..." I walk behind him and push his back, towards the stairs, "You look ready to faint..."

I turn my head over my shoulder, looking over to Shinji-nii and everyone, giving them all a apologetic smile.

"I'm just going to get Ni-chan to bed, then we're continuing with the lesson, Mister Iori!" I purr up a smile, seeing him groan.

I should have paid more attention to the strange sensation that drizzled in my chest and to how Ken was so silent and sullen.

I should have realized, something wasn't right.

But I didn't.


	30. Sixth Moon

I apologize for how long I've been inactive... Aha. Work has been piling up lately, again I apologize.

But please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 30: Sixth Moon  
**

9/4

"Hello!" my head pops into the doorway of the velvet room, holding a bag of homemade food and Yuu in my arms. Hopefully everyone in the velvet room could eat, then again I heard from Minato that Elizabeth was a monster when it came to eating, so I guessed they could. "I brought Yuu and some food over!"

No words answer, instead only a muffled sob was heard in the room.

Yuu suddenly starts fidgeting in my arms, pawing lightly for me to let him go. He felt anxious and seemed worried, almost like the hushed sobs were calling out desperately for him. I loosen my arms for him to jump down, watching the cat make his way over behind the for once empty seat in the room.

It was strange how there wasn't anyone here. No Elizabeth, no Theo, not even Igor was here. But then, who was it that was making that sad sound?

"Meow?" Yuu looks to me with wide eyes, they gleamed in the room. It looked like he wanted me to come closer to where he was, I follow and look behind the blue chair. Seeing a boy with a paper bag over his head, or rather it was pulled and gripped tightly with his fists. The muffled sob must have come from him.

"...Inu-kun...?" I kneel next to him, with Yuu on his other side, with his paws leaned against the boy's large pants.

"Mm.." his voice was full of sniffles, he was crying.

"What's wrong?" my hands were patting him lightly, he felt frail, both in heart and body.

"Mm," he shoots up, starting both me and Yuu. Only shaking his head in a prolonged silence and readjusting the bag over his head, "They, they'll be back later..."

"Y-you mean Igor and-"

"Mm," the boy interrupts me with his mumbles and nod, he pauses again when looking down to Yuu. "...Good, bye."

He taps his feet once and walks off to one of the doors.

Leaving me and Yuu alone in the room, completely shunned off by the boy behavior. He was a true enigma from his looks to his moods, to everything. I couldn't help but feel sad, to me it seemed like the boy was only lonely.

"Inugami..." I nibbled my lips, having had a persona with me with that name, I knew what the little guy was. A dog who was sacrificed in a sense, for the sake of hate or revenge.

My stomach churns, making me feel sick. I wonder if he chose that name on purpose, and that his scribbled mask was his own hatred.

I shake my head, I couldn't just assume. Brother told me to never just assume things, especially about people. I would just wait for the smaller other to open up to me.

"Yuu, come here." I let the cat jump into my arm again, feeling his soft fur calm me down. I place the food down on the table, writing a quick note for the residents that lived in the room.

But I notice a note already there, written with scarlet ink over black dyed-paper. It read with only three words scribbled in the red ink:

_RED_

_They bloom._

_- I._

I felt even worse, I didn't understand what or why but something about the note scared me. My feet tumble a step back with Yuu cradled in my arms, trying to brush away the rustling of murmurs in my head. The only thing that I couldn't completely shut out were words, Pharos' words that chilled down my spine.

_Soon, poisonous flowers will bloom, one in your own garden and three in a garden opposite of yours._

My heart stung with worry and dread, unsure of what to think or what I feared.

x

*"*"*

9/5

Dark Hour

_"I'm going to strangle him when I see him..."_ my fingers rustle through my hair, distraught by Junpei disappearance act. He knew that there was a full moon tonight and I was going to be sure to have a nice and long _chat_ with him about missing it. I pause my train of thoughts for a moment and chuckle dryly at myself, maybe being the leader all the time wasn't healthy.

Too much stress and it didn't help to know that lives were put on the line.

"_~It's near Paulownia Mall... I think.~_" my eyes glance back up, hearing Fuuka relaying what she found, "_~For some reason, I can't quite pinpoint its location...~_"

That didn't bode well with me, thinking back to what happened with Strega.

"_~But I'm trying to narrow it down...~_"

"Is that its power?" Aki was leaned on the wall about half a meter away from me, even then I could feel some excitement pulsing even over here.

I should have a chat with him too, very tempting.

"_~I don't know.~_" it looked like Fuuka's face dropped, honestly too hard on herself.

"We have enough to go on." a gruff voice muttered behind me and his words were true, but I was surprised that someone else said it before me for once. Maybe it wasn't a bad to have him on the team, so long as he wasn't provoked, Shinjiro seemed like a pretty calm fellow.

The door clicks open as Ken and sis walk into the room, both with furrowed eyes and pursed lips. Well mostly Minako, Ken was still plastering a stoic mask and trying his hardest to cover and seal his expression.

"We can't find Jun-chan anywhere..." Minako chewed on her lips, making them look redder than usual from her bite. "Ken couldn't find his backpack either, so he might not be home..."

"That idiot..." Yukari was growling, "He knows tonight's the night!"

"_~I don't sense him anywhere nearby...~_" that was strange, I was sure to have seen him at least twenty minutes ago outside. "_~Should I take more time to look for him, just in case?~_"

That sounded like a plan.

"No, it's okay." my eyes glare with a gawk at Ikutsuki, "You're all young, sometimes you just get in one of those moods."

Definitely I was going to follow with Fuuka's offer.

"Nee-san, Yukari and Fuuka." I cross my arms feeling a little more irritated, "Can you look for Junpei and tell him I'm going to kick his ass if he skipped cause... of a _mood_."

Obviously I didn't buy what Ikutsuki said, I'm not that stupid to not notice how alarmed his voice was when Fuuka suggested to search for him. The bastard is always a bastard.

"E-Eh, but then..." sis is still more than an arm's length away from me, "W-what about the...?"

"We have more than enough members and Kirijo is able to use similar scanning abilities but Fuuka's power will be helpful to find Junpei faster." hopefully it would also boost her confidence some more, "The rest will head to the mall..."

That sounded awful, no matter which way I looked at it.

x

"Arisato, a word." I look up from the red fountain, the bloody-water that streamed out of it was alluring with a twisted charm. The water stank up the entire mall with the reek of blood, I made a good call not letting sis join. She didn't need to breathe anymore of this in, my eyes move back to focus its gaze on Kirijo that lit up with the red water's glow.

I could tell what she was thinking.

"Fuuka needed some rest of handling something big, no matter how much she says she'll do it. It's mentally draining to keep Lucia out with that kind of concentration." my lips are flat but my eyes are hinted with amusement at the other's stirring, "Yukari... I'm sure you understand and I don't want Nee-san to be worrying about Junpei while fighting."

_"That, and I really don't want her getting sick from this smell."_

The other is silent with only a somewhat dissatisfied-sounding cluck of her tongue that slips. Not that I could blame her, not bringing Fuuka to pinpoint where it was, would make this a lot harder and tedious. Though I didn't really care, the mall to begin with, didn't have that many places for some kind of giant shadow to hide.

Unless there was some military basement-thing like the night prior.

"We'll split up and search for it," my shoulder stung a bit, feeling the spare quiver of arrows sink into my skin. Maybe leaving Aigis to do all the long range attacks was a better idea than asking to borrow Yukari's spare equipment. "No one go anywhere alone and as soon as you find something suspicious, call the rest of us."

I wave to gesture the youngest member over to me, hazel eyes were blank but his gaze was focused. A strange and sad kid.

"Amada, you'll be joining me." he shifts a bit to that but doesn't protest, walking not to close but not drifting away from me as we walked around the mall.

To me it didn't seem necessary to ask the boy to stick with me. It was merely my own curiosity that drew me to my conclusion, it felt a little wrong but I wanted to watch the child in front of me and see for myself just what exactly drove him to fight shadows, and how the senior's reactions to him had both interested and worried me. Just what were they hiding, what was he hiding under that mask?

And just, what was it that made the pit of my stomach unsettle with anxiety?

"Huh?" his voice squeaked, making him jerk a pause before continuing out of embarrassment, "A-Arisato-san... There's something over there." The boy pointed over to the left, ahead of us, staring through the dark green light spotting sparks flash.

And big sparks, that were bright enough to illuminate the inside of what I recognized as Escapade. Definitely unnatural and where our objective was hiding. A hand reaches down to the smaller boy, ruffling through his hair lightly.

"Good job," my eyes narrow with amusement, seeing him stiffen with annoyance. He was trying hard to keep that charade up, but I was sure it would break apart for the better soon enough. My fingers untangle from his brown hair, reaching for the earpiece to call for the others.

Only for footsteps to distract my attention away from the buzz of electronic.

"A-Amada!? Get back here!" the boy in front of my run ahead, spear in-hand and towards the club and alone. I hear a voice tune into my ear, instantly my voice snaps, "Go to Escapade _now_."

I would worry about things later, right now, I needed to chase after Amada. The child was already inside the building, he seemed quite anxious to get to the shadow and reckless about doing so.

When I run in, a cable flings at me, making me duck under for cover. The sounds of running electricity were humming all around, this didn't sound great or look great when I see large cables torn up and wired haphazardly into the limbs of the next shadow; Hermit. Its hands and feet were joined together with a mesh of cables, it seemed like they were just black cables themselves in the mess. The body was marked with red, light-bulbs screwed in its back and its masked head was surrounded by grayish-hair that blazed up.

Around the base there were smaller and open wires, that popped with sparks. Nearby was Ken, trying to get through the tangled wires skewed all over the dance floor.

The shadow's body arched up, as a blue light surrounded it and the buzz of lightning filled the room; it was prepping an attack. If I was younger, I was pretty sure my heart would have stopped and made me faint, just from the monstrous scream it let out as it charged up with its disgusting and inhuman head raised upward in the air.

I quickly push up a persona to the front in my heart, running over to cover the reckless boy from the bolts of energy the shadow shot out. Even if I had a persona block the electricity from shocking through me, it didn't mean I could feel it. Especially if it was practically having lightning bolts shot at my back, the smell of something burning was the only thing that was left in the air.

At this rate I was pretty sure all my clothes would be ruined, but that wasn't important, I roll over to my back and grab my evoker to retaliate with my own attack.

"TAKE-MIKAZUCHI!" the glass breaks, forming into the white-draped warrior. Drawing its sword out of its pretend sheath and slashing at the shadow, gripping tightly onto the mucked-yellow sword with its red hands. I use this chance to grab Amada up with my arms and run back to create distance between the shadow and us. My eyes were hard and cold with a glare at the boy, he doesn't flinch but I don't care.

In all honesty, I was beginning to grow really annoyed with practically everyone on this team.

"You. _Stay_." my voice was firmed by my irritation, I wasn't angry just yet but I was sure something would find its way to make me snap, if this fight dragged on. I hold out the bow and pull out an arrow not really sure on how much effect it would have on the Hermit, I decide to aim for something else._  
_

Its power source, the cables.

I stretch the bow's string as far as possible wanting enough power in the shot to pierce through the insulation on the wires. If I damaged them enough, I could maybe cause the club's power circuit to short out. If not, I would still be distracting the shadow with the arrows enough for me to summon personas to attack it.

What I don't expect is for it to take possession of the open wires, making them charge towards us.

"AMADA STAND BACK!" I use the bow and my hand to swat away as many wires as I could, not risking the boy to get shocked, and not caring about the sharp cuts and stings I felt in my hand. My tongue clucks, now I was pissed, lifting the silver-gun up again I call the same persona as before. Getting it to slash the Hermit's main body so its focus would be there and not here.

I drop the bow to the ground along with my evoker grabbing as many bundle of the wires as I could. Pulling and bending them as best I could with my strength, trying to make them useless.

"Amada!" I hook the wire deep into one of the cables' thick jackets not turning to face the other, reequipping myself with the bow and evoker. "Go get the other, now!"

"B-but-!"

My head snaps to my left, letting my glare vivid on how serious and angry I was right now. "_Now_, Amada."

A jolt of pain makes me inhale sharply, my feet tumble a step back. Hearing and feeling Take-Mikazuchi's pain, as it was smacked down with heavy cables and squeezed down with them. I have to bite back my cry when the persona is ripped apart painfully by the shadow's possessed wires. The pain was strong enough to make my balance fall, dropping me to one knee with dizzy vision and a throbbing headache.

"NEMESIS!" I wasn't sure whether to be glad or even more angry when hearing Amada still behind me, along with the shattering of glass. A black figure with its body encased by a spinning, glowing ring flung out. The wheel-like ring was like a saw and attached to its head and under its legs, on its chest was where it had its face; demonic hollow eyes and a wide grin that made me shiver. The thing rushed forward, spinning both its wheel and its body at the shadow.

I exhale and take a easier breathe before setting myself back up, and readying myself for another bullet-less shot. My lips suck in air sharply, in an attempt to ease down the ache in my head. "GETSU-EI!"

The pain rose in my head, I was using personas too frequently in a row lately and with how it was forced down like that. It didn't surprise me how much trouble I was having to shallow another jolt of this gun. The red warrior still abides, coming forth and slashing with its sword at the Hermit again. My head was beginning to scream at me to just run out now, I just bit down on my lips with stubbornness.

There was something else to fuel my stubbornness to stay, it wasn't just my outrage towards Amada running recklessly here. It was how and why he did, it couldn't have just been cause he was annoyed by my light teasing. He couldn't be on Junpei level of thinking, the masking was too good to hide something like that. Even now, his persona made me frown and feeling uneasy.

It looked menacing and spiteful.

Something I couldn't leave alone, not when I was told what personas were. The boy was definitely wearing a cover-up, but what he hid may by more than I bargained for.

"Get down!" my eyes refocus back into reality, hearing a gruff voice shout and seeing a sparking cable flung to my face. There wasn't enough time for me to jump back, not that I needed to. For the temporary immunity I had to the electricity and for the strong grip that yanked back. Hard enough to re-knock the air out of me.

The sound of glass shatters behind me, making my head fling upward to see who grabbed me. Instead I'm faced with a black figure riding a horse-figure staring down at me, though Shinjiro's head was underneath the black persona with me.

Really, what was with these personas? They're all so messed up and outright creepy to me, I note to myself not to mention that to Minako. She took a liking to them more than me, I couldn't even imagine what it was light to have someone, let alone a group of voices constantly murmuring in her head.

Then again it was also good that she wasn't lonely, if I could count those things as 'friends'.

Back to the present, the black horse; I believe the beanie'd senior's persona was called Caster. Castor, mortal brother of Pollux or in this case Polydeuces, Aki's persona. Whether that held any meaning I wasn't honestly sure, if it did I would have to go out of my to look further over this guy's actions.

I take a deep breath.

*"*"*

"Fuu-chi, what do you think?" I fidgeted on my toes, with my head turning to look around. I was a little nervous walking around in the hidden hour without brother nearby to cling to, then again I haven't been able to latch myself on him since Aigis came.

I bite down on my tongue from that thought. I needed to stop thinking about that, bad me! I gotta stay positive, besides I'm sure Aigis had a reason and we could resolve it soon enough.

_"I hope anyway..."_

"I still can't sense him anywhere..." the girl answers me with a sad tone, her face knit with disappointment that made my brow furrow.

"Fuu-chi don't be hard on yourself!" I give her a light pat on the back, guessing what she was so upset about, "You're doing just fine!"

I see her chew on her lips before retorting, "All we've been doing in walking in circles..." Which was true, all we've been doing for who knows how long is walking around the dorms trying to figure out where Junpei went off to.

"I-I'm sure that there's a reason..."

The girl jolts up, making both me and Yukari jump at startled by her sudden movement.

"They defeated the shadow..." her head is pointed upwards, eyes closed shut in concentration. "Yes, the disturbance around us is clearing up... Lucia, can you find him...?"

I look to Yukari, we were both a little confused but kept silent. Not wanting to break Fuuka's concentration, but we couldn't help but stare at her not out of confusion this time but rather worry with her face draining of color as she continued.

"Listen to the wind's answer in your ears," she clasped her fingers together, continuing to hone in with her persona. "Touch the earth's answer with your fingertips and taste the water's answer on your lips..."

Her face clearly showed the amount of strain she was putting on herself; it was both pale and dripping with sweat from exhaustion. She nearly collapses, panting out of breath with her face gleaming.

"I found him...!" both Yukari and I are rushed to her sides, supporting the girl and her lips dip into a frown, "...He's, on the roof?"

With that I returned her frown, from pure puzzlement. If he was on the roof, then why couldn't Lucia tell where he was until now?

"...Fuuka, Yukari," I give both Yukari and Fuuka a stern face, my lips pursed together, "Try calling Ni-chan, I'm going to check the roof..."

To be honest, I really didn't want to go on the roof. The first time up there was more than enough of a reason to avoid the place, even now thinking about it and the roof just made me feel like there was an ominous gaze glued on me. Waiting and watching my every move, waiting for me to slip up and strike.

I shudder inwardly to the thought.

"I'll just give a shout if something goes wrong, kay?"

Which honestly wouldn't be too hard, if something like that shadow crept up on me again. I was pretty sure I would scream loud enough even for Minato to hear, even if he was all the way at the mall. I jog away from the two, heading to the entrance of the dorms.

The only sound that welcome'd me in were the creaks of the doors that made my spine shiver. Everything kept spelling trouble to me, but I gripped onto the evoker and continued up the stairs.

Each creak just made my heart thump harder, _"I hope nothing goes wrong..."_

Before I know, I already stepped up the last steps on the stairs. Now I only had to go out on the roof to check and look for Junpei.

It takes me a full second that felt like minutes for me to open the doors, the weight of them felt heavier than I remembered. Again, my heart pulsed harder.

"What!?" I freeze, only letting a crack open when I hear Junpei's voice, something didn't sound right about his tone. "You can tell!?"

Who was he talking to?

"Yes, through Medea's eyes." an unfamiliar voice answered, it was girl's voice and had a soft and gentle ton but something about it tugged at me in the wrong way. It was so empty. "...My friend."

My heart stirred.

"That's not important... Why didn't you call off the mission?" I push the doors a bit more, "Is it worth your life?"

I push some more, it felt like I was pushing a boulder uphill.

"Dying is what people fear most..." the girl's voice sharpened and rose with emotion, "Isn't it?"

To this I kick the doors, running out with the evoker already aimed and ready.

"JUN-CHAN!" my face felt like it was burning, inside my heart stirred with a familiar feeling. In front of me was Junpei tied-up with a strange red-headed girl clad in white, she looked elegant but something about her made me wince and my chest tighten up in pain. This was the second I could remember, feeling this immense pain. But then, what made it so clear and vivid to make my chest hurt so much?

I shake my thoughts away, right now I need to focus. With my best effort I try to make my voice sound threatening and sharp, trying to mimic how brother sounded when he would be angry.

"Let him _go_!" I fire, calling Power a red-armored angel, hopefully she wouldn't retaliate back.

"Tch, they found us." the girl scowls but it lightens into a bright smile as she lifts a small detailed-pistol under her chin. "Medea, come..."

"Chidori, stop!" Junpei tackles into the girl before she could call whatever persona she had, making her yelp in surprise as she's knocked back and loses grip of the pistol or rather, evoker. "Minako! Get her gun!"

I jolt in surprise, hearing my name but jump out and reach for it. The gun was a lot smaller than the one Mit-nee gave us, but it was also a lot heavier too. For a moment I almost forgot I was holding a fake gun.

"No! Give it back!" the girl, Chidori tries to snatch it back. The amount of desperation in her eyes was painful to see, it was unbearable to be near her with pain stinging me all over. Thankfully, Power came to my aid and held the girl back and to my relief I heard footsteps rushing up here.

"P-please," my voice fluxes with unease, staring into brown eyes that screamed at my red ones. "Please just stay down!"

"Medea!" Power grabbed the girl and restrained her, but she still didn't cease her struggle. At least until the color in her face dropped and her breath became shallow and ragged.

That didn't look right. Without thinking, I rush over to the girl's side and look over her face.

"H-Hey, are you alright...?" her face was paler than before and her struggles were weak.

"...I'm not... afraid..." her brown eyes were glazing me with grief, "Of dying..."

"Ch-Chidori...!?" I'm to shocked to even look over to Junpei, this girl's body was screaming at me and her words only made my chest beat, almost ready to burst open.

"...M-Medea... I'm..." her voice was high and her body was trembling, something wasn't right.

And for a moment, the air that reeked with blood; smelled like flowers dipped in poison.


	31. Bud

I ended up just making this entire part about Chidori, aha... The part with Chidori has always felt painfully lengthy but still touching to see Junpei's soft side, though you see it more in the female route, aha.

I'm also hoping to work a little more on my writing. I'm hoping that typing my drafts with the help of the computer correcting me will help a little more. (Before I didn't have that, aha… It was just spelling errors.) And do forgive me, I had some internet issues to resolve.

But anyways once again, please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 31: Bud**  
9/6

"I'll ask you once more, is Chidori your real name?" Kirijo's voice was stern and she stared with full attention at the girl sitting in the hospital bed, "What kind of organization is Strega? Are there others besides you three?"

The red-headed girl, or as I've been told was called Chidori; was silent. She hadn't spoken a word, not since Minako and Junpei brought her down. Both of them were frantic to our confusion when they brought a strange girl down from the rooftops and unconscious at that. From what we heard, the girl was a persona-user and most likely involved with Strega. Seeing how she abducted Junpei and managed to block out Fuuka's abilities.

Three of us, Kirijo, Aki and I were standing around her bed. Waiting for her to answer, but it was an answer that would clearly never come.

"Hey wait, Junpei!" the door slides open, gaining a glance from us. "You're not suppose to be here, remember!?"

"Chidori...!" Junpei and Yukari run into the room, to which I narrow my eyes at. Not to how the two walked in here but rather at Junpei, how could he still worry about someone who kidnapped and I presume was planning to kill him, if this girl really was one of those Strega people.

"Uh... Sorry." Yukari fidgets back noticing our gazes, "He wouldn't stop bugging me about this place..."

The said other runs over to the bed, where Chidori was. His entire face was drowned with puzzling concern.

"How are you feeling?" the capped-junior looked briefly over the girl before continuing, "...Seems like you calmed down."

Again, the girl stays silent, her lips are glued shut but something flickers in her eyes but dies out before I could read it. Should the girl actually hold any feeling remotely close to Junpei, I wouldn't know. Honestly, I would never understand how love works.

"She certainly has." Kirijo interjects into their one-sided conversation. Her face was knotted in annoyance not that I could blame her, "In fact, she won't say a word." the senior lets out a sigh, with a light scowl. "Maybe we should confiscate her sketchbook, too."

"Hey, come on... What good would that do!?" Junpei surprisingly snaps at Kirijo, "That won't make her talk!"

"I doubt it," I glare coldly over the two, hard enough for the girl to just briefly quiver back with the flinch of her stiff fingers. "I heard she fainted after her evoker was taken away."

"Medea..." the red-head finally says a word, her voice shivering to stay quiet and the quiver comes back and it soon becomes an outburst with her voice in edge. Brown eyes pierced me with a glare that was blazing with life and in rage. "Give it back to me! I want her back!"

That got her to answer, for the most part. But not the answer I wanted.

"Hey, I told you not to bring that up, didn't I!?" I growl at Aki when he scowls at me, as if I was in the wrong and she was the victim.

What else were we suppose to do? Bottle-feed the girl and coo over her like she was a baby? This wasn't a game. We couldn't just sit around and wait for her to finally answer. We needed answers, answers about Strega, answers about her Persona and we needed them now. There wasn't any reason for me to pity to her or anyone right now.

Kirijo sighs, directing our attention to her. "I'll have someone else try next time."

"Why...?" the girl was mumbling, the reason in her eyes burnt out. Even the rage she bore through me was extinguished, making me take back what I said partly. The way she was drained of life and so empty, it really did look like she was a victim.

"Why did you take it from me...? Medea..."

Really, even I almost felt bad for her, almost.

X

9/8

It was after school finally and again both seniors along with me were working at trying to crack the girl's silence. But this time both Fuuka and Minako were here, more or less to my dismay of the latter. Though it was probably was for the best.

"So, Yamagishi... Do you sense anything?" I was almost tempted to smack my head on something hard, after the attempt of boosting Fuuka's confidence going down the drains. I was positive that Kirijo's added pressure, wasn't exactly going to help and I was right. The pale girl's face frowned with heaps of disappoint in herself, quietly shaking her head and muttering a low no. Thankfully Minako was at her side, patting her gently on the back yet oddly her eyes were focused at our problematic tenant.

When I looked hard enough her eyes seemed to gleam with something like worry and possibly fear, puzzling me with confusion. Maybe it was cause of the unusual silence the girl had or the empty look in her brown eyes, it could be anything really for all I know. This girl was the biggest enigma I've ever seen, making thousands of problems that could have bothered Minako.

"By refusing to speak, you're only hurting yourself." Kirijo stepped closer to the said girl's bed, a stern and determined look in her visible dark red eye. "We aren't keeping you here because we hate you. We just want to avoid unnecessary confrontation."

I let out a silent and short sigh, gripping on the bridge of my nose and pinching hard. This would be a very, very long week at this rate.

The door slides open again and to no surprise it was Junpei, yet again. Only his face was much calmer than the first time, he didn't barge in yelling with Yukari which I was rather grateful for. I would probably kick him and Yukari if they did a recap of a few days ago. I was tired of dealing with headaches at the moment.

The capped-teen glances over Chidori before he speaks up, "...How's Chidori?"

"Again?" Aki was the one to answer first, though it wasn't much of an answer really. "What's you obsession, Junpei?"

I nearly splutter and am stunned by the revelation of how dense Aki was, to some maybe endearing but there was a limit at how blind you could be not to realize someone was so painfully, love-struck.

"Did she say anything?" like the other, Junpei completely ignores Aki and looked over to me and Kirijo for an actual answer.

"...Not a word." his face seems to drop to the ground from Kirijo's reply but he quickly picks it up and looks to us with unfaltering determination.

"Can I just talk to her?"

"Iori..." Kirijo glances sideways to me as we exchange gazes briefly. It seemed like she was against it. "It seems like you're letting your emotions get the best of you."

I take it back, it wasn't that she was against his request but rather didn't seem to fully understand the meaning behind his worry and words. I was tempted to ask if all the seniors were this socially-unaware or at the very least, ask if every persona-user up to this point were orphans. Be it theoretically or in a literal sense. Though, thinking a little about it. The latter question was more of a rhetorical question on my part.

"Is everything okay?" Kirijo's face was drowned with misplaced concern. Honestly, I felt like I was getting a migraine watching this, scratch that, I had a migraine just standing here.

"Well... Not exactly, I know she attacked me but..." his face furrows into a painful scowl that makes me want to wince, "I can't stop thinking about her!"

Really, he was so painfully love-struck that it hurt to even watch.

"Mit-nee, I think..." Minako squeaks her voice in between the mumbles. Her red eyes were still focused on the other girl that was still unmoving like a corpse. "I think, Jun-chan should talk to her...|

"…Mmm, desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose." Kirijo sighs, giving in, "All right, try and talk to her."

Junpei's face brightens. He sends a small thank you to Minako who guides Fuuka and Aki out of the room. Her eyes were still focused on something that wasn't with them, thinking hard about something. I have to shrug it off for the moment, looking back to Junpei. As he steps closer to the bed, sitting down on the chair next to it and gives a light smile to the girl. And she finally moves, breathing with life and looking up but it was still with blank, dead eyes.

"...You okay?" the voice was a low whisper, almost like he was afraid to break something. Chidori was still silent, "I'm glad they let you keep your sketchbook..."

His chuckle was light and dry. I hush Kirijo to move a little further away from the two, but not too far that we couldn't listen in.

"You're still drawing pictures, even in the hospital?" he grins at her but it's a warm and gentle smile still, "You really do like to draw, huh?"

The girl's face was blank and silent but suddenly it twisted and darkened, scowling with overwhelming emotions that I almost thought she didn't have. But what stood the most out to me was when she spoke, it was empty with hopelessness.

"...It doesn't matter." Strands of her red hair fell as she spoke, her arms moved but they were limp. No better than a corpse. "No one else but me can understand my pictures..."

A single word to describe her, would have to be despair. Not gloomy, not sad, not pitiful. The girl was despair, it was overwhelming.

"Chidori...!?" Junpei startles all of us with a shout as he jumps up, quickly grabbing the girl's hand. "Y-Your arm!"

Red, fresh red blood, that bled brightly through the white bandage wrapped tightly around the girl's wrist. Rousing both Mitsuru and me, it happened again.

The other problem with dealing with this girl was often when someone checked on her, she would be injured. Always, it would be fresh cuts on her arms.

"Damn it," I curse, rushing over to the side of the bed and grab some clean wraps. "Kirijo, go call the doctors… Junpei hold her arm out." I'm pleased when the elder leaves immediately for the doctor, but Junpei on the other hand. He was stunned and just stared in horror, as though the girl's entire hand was chopped off or it was like his own wrist that was bleeding. I merely slap his rigid fingers off the girl's hand, snatching her bloody wrist and ripping off the soaked wraps.

Her wrist was a bloody mess. The tears in it were disgusting. I couldn't even fathom how she managed to cut herself up like this, even after we made sure to get rid of anything that could be used as a blade. But as I cleaned and applied medicine, the marks looked more like claws, fingernails. The thought of clawing out your own flesh with your nails made me inwardly shiver.

"Why are you bleeding!?" Junpei just barely snaps out of his shock, didn't he realize it when he saw it? Then again, even though he was behind me the other was in shock. That at least, I could understand.

"She does it to herself, Junpei." My voice is deadpan with rarely any concern as I pull the wraps tightly, not even budging to the dead girl's struggles. It was only for things like this she would beam with emotion and life, irritating really. "But she heals quickly with or without first aid."

"She did this to herself...?" the girl's wrapped hand is pulled away from me, with a sheepish and weak tug. Junpei eyes were looking only at her, focusing only at her and drowned with horrified emotion that trembled anxiety. "Then, at the station... You did that to yourself!?"

I wasn't too sure what he was talking about now, but I guessed it had something to do with when they met previously.

The girl retracts her hand away with brute force, not that it was needed as how weak and loose Junpei's grip was around her thin wrists. Her face was scowling at us with detest and seethed with scornful anger.

She whispered low and sharp with venom, "...I never asked for your help." her eyes are far and gazed away from everything but Junpei, "You were the one who misunderstood."

I swear I felt my migraine worsen. This girl was a pain to look after, she didn't answer and we had to deal with _this_. Just how and what do we exactly do? I wasn't sure anymore, it was then my thoughts were interrupted.

"Well, I want you to stop." the voice was firm and strong, not rough or over-energized with a childish fantasy and wavering with his raw, honest feelings. This was the second time that I heard Junpei so serious, but only it was accompanied by something that I recognized as heart-broken. "You can't be doing that... It's not right... And I won't let you."

I could feel my lips almost dip up into a small smile, rather pleased at how grown-up Junpei was and touched by, though stupidly blind as it is, his love over this girl. He really cared from the core of his heart, and I respected that. I would be sure to persuade Kirijo to let him visit the girl, for him and for us. He would be our best chance at softening up the girl's heart with the way she had her attention focused on him.

He would be the key to unravelling the girl's heart.

X

*"*"*

9/10

"Um, hello…" I'm answered by just the shallow breathes of the girl in front of me, the way she sat in the hospital garments and in the white room made me remember the years I was stuck in my own room. An unpleasant time for me and it made me hate hospitals, as they would always reek of death to me. Making my stomach queasy and my chest tighten up, making it difficult to breath.

I smile through the heavy feeling, "U-Um, I don't think I've mentioned it… B-but I'm Minako Arisato, you can call me Ko-chan it you want…" I nibbled a bit on my lips but kept my smile up, "C-Cause you know, N-Ni-chan and I have similar names so… U-Um…"

The silence that hung in the air made it hard for me to keep the conversation up. I hoped for someone to come in the room soon, maybe with another person it'll be easier to pick up a conversation. It was to my relief when the door opens, Junpei came in.

"Yo, Chidorita." I cough over a giggle, trying my best not to be rude but it was really hard hearing that nickname. Both hilarious and adorable in my opinion but Chidori, the girl didn't seem to think so.

"...Don't call me that."

"C'mon, cheer up..." he gave his brightest grin, sitting to her side and next to me with a bag in his lap. "I brought you a new sketchbook. I thought your old one might be getting full."

I smile inwardly, that was sweet of him.

"That wasn't necessary, Junpei." I almost flinch at how sharp the red-head's words were, she looked so fragile but like broken glass she was sharp as a knife.

My eyes glanced with wary over the two others in the dreary hospital room. It was only the three of us in here: me, Junpei and Chidori. While brother, Mit-nee and Aki-nii were all outside the white room, standing outside it as if something were to happen, something bad too. It didn't help that it was a "precaution", it made me uneasy and quell a shudder down. We were treating this girl like someone mad, like a vicious caged animal almost. I didn't like that, I hated it.

But a soft and cheerful laugh lightens the heavy pressure that seemed to weigh me down, I looked to Junpei. He was still smiling. Even though the girl swung her sharp words with poison at him, he was overjoyed.

"You said my name..." his eyes were drowsy in love, I could recognize it this time after the number of times I've seen Rio or Kenji gush up. He was "head-over-heel" in love, it looked endearing to me. "I was worried I'd never hear that again."

I let my smile up on my lips, glad that Junpei found someone so precious to him and that she had someone as wonderful as him with all his faults and charms. That last thought worms its way to make me want to giggle again, but I hold it back. Watching the two with content as they talked and little by little I could see her eyes were starting to smile brighter.

*"*"*

"...Any luck?"

"She's talking..." I wave Shinjiro away from the door. It wouldn't be good for the trio inside to hear us. "Nothing we want to know, though."

"Well, it's a start." Aki added before looking at the taller senior with a light scowl, "So... Why are _you_ here?"

That was a good question. What was he doing here? Shinjiro didn't seem like someone who was that interested about interrogating someone for information. In fact he didn't really feel like anything remotely close to a person that would hurt someone or do anything malicious, a rare person to find these days I note. I also note that he was holding something in his hand or rather it was, as he stuffed his hands in his pockets with whatever he held.

Then something in the room topples over, snatching away our attention and Kirijo quickly opens the door. A painful cry was heard and from the doorway, I saw the girl hunched in her bed and clutching her throat. The topple sound was most likely the two chairs that were now on the ground, knocked over by its occupants.

"Chidori!? Wh-What's wrong!?" Junpei's leaned at her side, panicked and trying to figure out what to do. Minako on the other hand was on the ground, shaking with her hands clutching on the top of her head like something was pushing her down. It was more than enough to give me reason to rush over to the bed, despite how I was unsure of what was happening. I halt my steps quickly though, feeling my throat close up, as though something just punched me hard in my stomach. There was a terrible growl that washed over me, it was inhuman and made me recoil back.

There was something here, something that wanted out and was struggling to get out.

"I get the feeling that there's something in here!" I couldn't even bring the strength to even try remarking Aki, "Is it an enemy!?"

"Wrong! Get out of the way!" Shinjiro yells with a gruff voice, his panic was apparent in it and he pushed his way past me and Junpei. He grabs the girl's chin and forces something down her throat, leaving her to gasp and the suffocating sensation was gone.

"Chidori!" Junpei was the first to check over the girl's condition.

"Relax... Her persona just went berserk. It happens." I make an almost audible gasp to his answer, a berserk persona but how did he…?

"N-Ni-chan..." Minako was still holding her head, as though she were checking it were still there. She was still shaking on the ground, her words were half-sobs and mutters. Soon though, she shot up to her feet and grabbed Shinjiro's coat as a threatening gesture, which stunned all of us. "Why was she...? She shouldn't be!" her words were incoherent mucked by sniffles and anger.

"What did you_ give _her!?"

"A suppressant. You felt it, her persona was pushing you down and trying to strangle her." Shinjiro was unmoved, staring down with steel eyes, "They're not like us, they can't fully control their personas."

"_And that's what the suppressants were for? But... why does he...?"_ I bite my tongue to keeping quiet, watching Minako tighten her grip on the other's coat, tip-toeing on her toes and glaring dangerously at him. Every inch of her face seethed with emotion, either she was angry about how Shinjiro kept quiet about something so important... or she was just afraid. She was afraid of something happening like this again, only worse.

I felt my hands shake a bit, thinking back to that Black Death. What if it, what if Death was the same and what if it wasn't just Strega. What if it was Minako next time? That thing, if that came out again... I wasn't sure if I could do anything to stop it. It was untouchable, a grim reaper, looming over her as if taunting me with its sickle. Ready to snatch the one it had forgotten all those years ago.

A light growl rouses me out of my thoughts. She unhands part of his coat and without a word moved closer to Chidori that still was trying to breathe. "Chi-chan, don't worry..." she patted her lightly on the girl's back with her voice quivering, "Me and Jun-chan are here with you..."

I scowl a little, not pleased by Minako's now cooing eyes and warm words. But most importantly, I felt a bubble of anger in me and looked at Shinjiro with questioning eyes.

"Shinjiro, show me the suppressants." I had an idea of how he knew about this and I didn't like the idea at all. But I couldn't leave alone, I grab his arm when the other tries to walk away, using all my strength in a rather futile attempt to stop. He was a lot stronger than me, actually I think next to Aigis, he was the strongest out of us and that was without personas. Not that that would stop me from getting answers. "_Shinjiro_."

He growls, I glare. We're both interrupted by the sound of one last gasp and the light crying of Junpei.

"Th-Thank God...!" Junpei cuts the heavy air, his voice, actually his entire body was shaking and on the brink of tears. His hands though trembling were wrapped tightly around one of the girl's hands with one of Minako's lightly placed on top. "I thought you might be..."

"Why do you look so scared?" the girl's face was drained of the pain that was on it moments ago, it looked even blanker, deader if I looked closely at it. "Death is nothing to be afraid of..."

I see Minako flinch, her fingers curl with tension and I want to snatch her away from there but my hand stays gripped on Shinjiro's arm, feeling as though I couldn't go near her right now.

*"*"*

"Dying just means you don't wake up anymore... That's all." it was almost frightening how serious and straight the girl's tone was.

"Wh-What!?" I felt Junpei's hands tighten around her hand, but it was still loose enough so it would hurt. "You don't really mean that, do you?"

"...Junpei?" the girl's face was confused and her eyes glanced briefly down to her hand that was captive to ours, over Junpei's shaky hands.

"I-I don't want you to die, Chidori!" his hands shook even more, "Just because you're not afraid doesn't mean no one else is... Did you ever feel about how I might feel!?"

It was almost laughable to me. The trio of us were truly odd together, one that fears death, one that accepts death and one that rejects death. Someone else laughs in my stead, it was Chidori.

"You're so weird, Junpei..." it was the first time I saw her smile or heard her laugh, it was heart-warming and her face was bright, enriched with life. I was hopeful that Junpei would be able to bring this expression out of her more and more.

"_Then, she would be a live again,"_ I felt a smile creep up on my lips but then I remember the intense pressure I felt pushing me down mere moments ago and have to hold down a frown. She wasn't different from us, I was certain there was another reason why her Persona, her precious friend would go mad like that. I was determined to find out. _"I'll help them, no matter what… No one deserves this kind of fate."_


	32. Blossom

I'm quite upset at myself for being so slow at this suddenly. Hopefully I can change that, as we edge closer and closer to the changes I've made. Along side with my tweaking of the writing style, aha.

Anyways do enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 32: Blossom**

9/10

"Shinjiro stop." The heels of my feet were still left on the ground, dragged roughly throughout the hospital halls when Shinjiro decided to leave whether or not I was still latched on him. It was rather humiliating to be dragged like some child in public but I could swallow my pride. This was much more important than my face in public, any pride that wasn't shattered in me was demolished. I wrap my arms around him and jump up on him, just like a young brat would to get what he wanted. Not that I cared at the moment. "_Aragaki_, you will answer me!"

His arm tenses under mine, out of clear annoyance. Steel-eyes glared hard at me, but I wouldn't be scared off by that. I've seen worse, felt worse, I know worse.

"Shinjiro Aragaki," my voice felt raspy and each word was scorching my throat up, far from that icy bite I could mimic, "You are and will tell me where you got these suppressants and why." Under his arm, I gripped tightly over one of my wrists. Honestly, I didn't want to know, I didn't want to hear the answers. Truthfully, I was scared of what answers I would be given but I need to know. I was forced to know.

"Shinji!" both of our eyes turn, well my head does anyway. Aki caught up to us in front of the hospital, his voice growled but it was choked briefly by the sight in front of him. I couldn't blame him, seeing anyone literally hang off of Shinjiro Aragaki seemed rather, awkward to witness. I hold back a cluck at his inhuman strength. I couldn't understand how someone who looked so rough and sinister could have been so soft with kindness. I focus back to Aki again, but my arms are still clung onto Shinjiro's. If there was one thing that's changed, it would be my persistence, irritating persistence. "What the hell's going on?"

I studied the silverette's face carefully, taking in the worry and panic in his tone. I silently swallow down a lump in my throat, there was something unnatural about the concern in Aki.

"Why did you have those pills!?" he continued on, practically stomping his feet down as he came closer.

It was there my arms slipped carelessly, recognizing the fear within me that sparked. Those pills, there was definitely something more to them. Something dreadful that made the pit of my stomach churn and my eyes shoot back to the silent Shinjiro.

"I've heard about those… They're taken to suppress a persona when the user can't control it." the dread seemed to drown over Aki's features, even his tone I could practically taste the absolute fear in it. "But, the side-effects…" he stops and makes a long pause, looking carefully at Shinjiro. "You're not taking them, are you?"

Aki shoves me aside getting to Shinjiro, he was only a little shorter than Shinjiro and fared better than I would in this towering stare down. And he would, could have done better if his glare didn't lack an edge. It was blunt, blinded and fueled by pure berserk emotions.

I could only grumble when the other grabs a handful of the maroon coat and seethe through his teeth with anger. "Answer me!"

Shinjiro merely clicks his tongue and ends with a growl. The sound sparked something in Aki, I wasn't sure what but the other's next words fueled that spark to a flame. "I don't owe you anything."

This was what I hated, loathed and feared for when getting involved in this persona and shadow mess. Becoming a leader didn't help as it would just add to the list of problems. The biggest one was meditating between members, people who I didn't know anything about until four months ago. It was even less time that I knew the recently joined ones and even then, besides Minako I barely understood anyone.

All I could do was sit and watch, see through their words for lies. Just like the past when sis and I were shuffled between relatives. I hated this.

"The same as always..."

"Save it. I've heard it all before. You think I'm wasting my power but you're just too thickheaded."

I loathed watching the two bicker but something seemed to combust in one of them with Shinjiro's next words.

"I'm tired of your damn preaching."

A fist flies in front of my eyes, connecting with the taller senior's face. Startling me enough to push my feet back, in a stance of bewilderment. Unsure what to think other than Aki just punched Shinjiro and how much it hurt to get a jab from a boxer.

"Don't you get it?" Aki snarls but his voice is hushed lowly to mimic a calm tone, "You know the reason… Ten years ago. My sister. The fire."

I flinch, not thinking of how their anger blinded them so much to make my presence non-existent. But rather, I felt uncomfortable. It didn't seem right to stand here and continue listening, I couldn't listen to them continue.

"That's enough," my voice trembled once before I could chill it over with fabricated anger, "Aki go back to Chidori's room and check up with Kirijo, _Shinjiro_ you're coming with me."

They both pause in their quarrel to look at me, both obviously wouldn't listen. I breathe in a deep breath, readying the hardest and sternest glare and voice I could muster.

"_Now_," I cross my arms, hiding the fact I was clenching my fingers tightly, "Unless you have a problem following orders."

I didn't wait for an answer, I just grab Shinjiro's arm and drag him with all my strength. I managed to pull him just a bit off his balance, which was more than enough to continue dragging him away and leave Aki behind.

X

My feet finally stop when the weight in my hand pulls back. I turn around to face a pissed off Shinjiro, returning his glare with a blank stare.

"Shinjiro, I'm not going to ask… for now." My fingers unclench from the man's arm, "Just remember this…"

The other looks down at me, with puzzlement in his eyes.

"I'm not here to watch someone die," my voice snarls with discomfort, "I'm here for my sister and I'm not going to let something happen to her. And I'm not here to repeat what happened the day we left this place…" I somberly whisper the last part, muttering it with a choked back annoyance. Hating how many times I seem to mention our past was irritating.

He responds with a grumble, displeased and annoyed. It was a rather refreshing change from the looks of awkward pity to be honest.

"Anyway I'm just going to leave you be, but I'm warning you…" my hand digs into my pocket feeling a vibration in it, "You get yourself into some shit and I'll kick your ass."

My heels turn, looking down at the phone in my hand and not minding the man's confused grunt.

"If it's something you need to do," somewhere in the back of my head I could feel something stir, "Then do it. Just don't be stupid about it."

"Hmph," briefly his rough hand presses down on my head, making me stumble on my feet and glare at the unwanted touch but I forget it seeing a warm light in Shinjiro's eyes. "Don't worry about it, I plan to." Shinjiro walks away with that.

He reminded me of someone I once knew, but I couldn't recall who that was. Only there was something about it that made my chest hurt with grief. And in front of me and only to me a card flips out, breaking out of its glass box with a shatter.

_Thou hast established a new bond…  
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Moon Arcana…_

Number eighteen, The Moon. Of course there were still more social links; fate was testing my patience to the bone. Though, then again I, at least, had something to go by should I not understand whether I had a good relationship or not with the other. Then again, I wasn't exactly sure how social links worked besides being "essential" to creating stronger personas.

I left out an audible sigh this time and look back to the screen of my phone. Knitting my brows when I do, seeing an unknown number that just mailed me. I grit my teeth with puzzlement when seeing the contents.

_Be warned, oh Poet of Woe  
Justice shall halt with the Moon's fall.  
And she, thy heart shall weep_

"…_It's probably nothing."_ I hoped deleting the message.

X

9/11

"Mornin' you know…" Yukari stepped in between Minako and me, "I wonder why Shinjiro-senpai came back so suddenly…"

"I don't know…" I lie through my teeth, I did have an idea. After all Aki dragged me with him when he practically forced the him to come back, I just didn't know the details. "But he's strong." Stupidly strong, was I to be honest.

"Yeah, I guess. He's kinda scary, if you ask me…" Yukari quells into her thoughts, "But, it doesn't seem like he's rejoining SEES just cause he likes to fight."

I stare.

"…Yuka-tan, most of us aren't as excited to fight like Aki-nii and Jun-chan…"

X

"Minato-kun!" I could feel my face cringe hearing someone squeal out my name, I wipe it over with a towel before looking at whoever just called out to me. A girl, brunette with a fake face plastered with makeup and a wry smile. "Like, wow I'm so embarrassed, calling out your name while you're running!"

"_Then don't."_ I glance over to Kazushi, he was busy talking with Yuko. I curse, not wanting to deal with whoever this girl was. "You are…?"

"Oh, like, gosh Minato-kun! I'm in the same class as you!" the girl laughs and I could swear an apathetic robotic laugh would sound like music right now.

"…I see," the towel drapes over my neck, "Is there something you need?"

"Well…" the girl stretches out the word longer than necessary and my eyes narrow in question. She giggles only adding to my confusion, "I just wanted to tell you about Minako-chan! She's hanging out with the 'bad' crowd!"

"Excuse me?" I gawk for a moment before processing what she just said. A indefinite lie, Minako would never. Even if she did, I knew her, she would worm her way into people and push them out with her should they be in this "bad" crowd. _"Does she really have to talk like that?"_ I wondered, thinking how annoying this girl was and sounded.

"Oh! You didn't know!?" the girl gasps with an overdramatic touch as though the world was ending, "That Saori Hasegawa girl, she's no good! I heard she's been partying and she seduces boys and curses behind our backs!"

"Hasegawa…?" I think a moment trying to think of who that was, "Ah, _Sa-chan_… Minako talks a lot about her and I've met her before, have you spoken to her before?" The girl shifts uneasy as I make a cold glare at her, it wasn't like I had anything against her. Besides the fact she was annoying and irritating me with something pointless, an obvious lie.

"H-Huh, no she never talks to anyone! Cause she thinks she's higher than all of us! Minato-kun, don't get taken in by that bitch's lies!"

"Leave." I smile, sweetly with my eyes closed up into frowns and lather my voice with a pissed tone.

"Eh, what do you mean!?"

"I said leave. You're wasting my time with your stupidity. Nee-san knows what's best for her and I know for a fact Hasegawa isn't anything of that sort."

I don't bother to bat an eye when the girl runs off with tears in her eyes, overdramatizing the whole situation. It wasn't even about Minako or me, not even about the girl. I guess no matter how old you are, there are always stupid idiots.

It was obvious the girl would splutter more nonsense, stupid rumors.

X

9/12

"There's so much wrong here, I don't know where to begin…" someone grumbles lowly but loud enough for me to hear when I walk into the kitchen to get something to drink and something foul and brunt hits my nose, making me cringe.

"Was there a fire…?" I wasn't sure if I was joking or not but it smelled like something went wrong.

"Ni-chan, don't be rude…!" Minako was sitting in a chair, across from the stove and counter where Shinjiro and Fuuka were. She had a blissful smile on her face, "Shinji-nii and Fuu-chi are cooking."

"Ah…" now I understood, though I thought the girl had gotten better at cooking. _"Then again, she can make it resemble the food now."_

"Don't start messing around with recipes until you've improved your basic cooking skills." The tall senior continued, "Seriously, don't you feel bad at all for charring all this food?"

Out of curiosity, I join Minako and sat on the ground next to her with my lips pursed. _"I didn't know Shinjiro cooked, who'd thought?"_

"Shinji-nii's a really good cook," sis leaned over and whispered with a light giggle, "Even if he doesn't look like it."

"Now listen up. Prepare everything beforehand." The other continued and Fuuka seemed to be jolting notes down in a thick notebook, a bit excessive. As she did Shinjiro began to cook, the man's face was softened as he went. His appearance and behavior really were nothing alike. Like the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover.

"He might be better than you…" I mutter without thinking watching Shinjiro flawlessly cook and show Fuuka all of the steps. In turn, sis smacks me lightly.

"Gosh, Ni-chan," she feigns the hurt in her voice but she was smiling all the while with cheerful eyes, "Way to lift my spirits!"

I let a bright grin lift on my face and rest my chin in my palms. "You know I like your pastries the best."

How long has it been since we actually spoke to each other without the worry of someone building a wall between us, separate us? It has been too long for me.

"If there's anything bothering you, Nee-san tell me okay?" I let my eyes wander back over to the stove, smelling something delicious in the air now.

"You worry too much about me, Ni-chan." She giggles softly as she poked my side playfully, "Think more about yourself more, 'kay?"

My smile dips briefly, that was harder said than done. I couldn't help but worry for her, she was the only one left for me. And to her I was the big brother but I… _"I'm…"_

"Oh, they're done!" she stands up from the chair with a large grin on her face, "Oh wow! It looks like a picture in those fancy cookbooks! Doesn't it Ni-chan?"

I bury the previous thoughts away and stand up to glance over. The smell wasn't the only thing that was delicious, it looked delicious too.

"_Does he watch cooking shows or something? This is incredible…"_

"Haha, look, Ni-chan's so speechless!" I cough and look away when sis pokes fun at me, it wasn't everyday that I actually was. But more than anything, I was quite impressed and amazed.

"…Just shut it and eat up before it gets cold." That sounded like the Shinjiro I knew.

"Chow time!" Minako cheered, hurrying to set the table for four, four that included me.

"N-Nee-san, I came down here for something to drink…" I heft a sigh seeing her hum, ignoring me. She wouldn't listen would she? "Alright, let me at least help you." It wouldn't take too long for the two of us to set the table up and the four of us sat at the table, though two of us, Shinjiro and I were just sitting.

It was honestly a bit awkward, with the two girls eating in bliss and my sheepish sips of water. I wished that Shinjiro would at least drink something. It was rather uncomfortable that he just stared off to the side.

"This taste…" Minako had the fork in her mouth, with a dazed look in her eyes. A look that snapped at the instant she glanced back at me. Pulling the fork out and spooning another bite of the beef noodles, "Ni-chan! Here!" She held it in my face, the smell made my stomach grumble a little despite not actually being hungry. My twin looked to me with expectation and glimmering for me to try some.

"Say aah!" she giggled childishly, not minding the glances she got from Fuuka and Shinjiro, both awkward and possibly embarrassed about the situation in either her or my stead. I couldn't help chuckle to that and abide to her wants, taking the bite given.

My fingers cover over my lips quickly as I savoir the taste. The flavor was warm and nostalgic.

"This is delicious!" the words pass through my lips without second thought, making me fluster quickly after realizing the giggles Minako let out. I wasn't smiling but rather grinning, and probably it was like a child's grin. I cough up with absolute embarrassment, "You didn't see that."

I'm only answered with the girls' soft giggles and a light grunt, adding to the red that grew on my face.

X

Dark Hour

"Hi… It's been a while." The presence don't take me by surprise tonight, I spin around in my chair blankly staring at the trespasser.

"_So he's visiting me this time…"_ there wasn't much of a pattern to Pharos' visits, only he favored Minako the most to my dismay and came only to me scarcely. These visits bothered me immensely. As when the child came to speak to me it felt like a foreboding sign of something horrible and there would be that squirming pain in my chest that would only leave me with fatigue.

And this time I was wide awake for any nonsense he would throw at me. I place my pen down on the wood of the desk and put my focus onto the brat entirely.

"Three seasons have passed since we met…" the child narrowed his blue-eyes with a smile as he continued. His words always set me off edge, something in them nagged at me. As though there was something lodged and buried in them, something that was important to dig out. "Time goes by so quickly, and many things change."

I take notice of the tone that deepens with his next words, adding to my growing unease.

"Yet, some things will always remain the same… Don't you agree?" he smiles sweetly at me like a child but the words are far too dark to be from one.

I take a moment to answer. Never changing, I hated the idea but… "That's true." There were many things that we that I could never hope to change. There was only so much a human could do, there was only so much we could warp with words and actions, and there was only so much we could plaster over with a façade. A mask could last for only so long before it finally breaks and shatters away.

"Yes, if you say so then it must be." His eyes looked pleased by my answer which annoyed me, "Talking to you has stirred up certain memories, that tower for instance."

Tartarus.

"I've been thinking about it lately…" his voice drops with his blue irises, "I wonder, will our relationship stay the same…?" The amount of sorrow that knitted itself onto Pharos almost pulled my heartstrings, almost. "Or will it evolve?"

We both look at each other, with a brief pause that hindered with grief. A mutual feeling we held in that moment of silence.

"No matter what the future holds, we will be friends… That is for certain." His smile was far from happy and hopeful, it felt awfully remorseful. "I'll come again. Until then, good night…"

With that he vanishes, right on cue with the emerald lights and ruby blood. The Dark Hour was over now. The desk light comes back to life, highlighting the scribbles of notes strewn on the table, notes that I've collected and written down since the beginning of this persona fiasco, notes about shadows and of SEES' members. Majority right now, were about the two latest members: Ken Amada and Shinjiro Aragaki. Everything was scrawled messily and had my own thoughts jotted down nearby. Three were underlined and circled, reading off: related (?), danger (Pills and Personas?), keep watch.

The light buzzes of my phone come next, the front screen lighting dimly under the desk light. It was rather strange to get a message this late. I pick it up and flip it open, seeing a new mail in my inbox from unknown.

"Again?" my words are mouthed almost inaudible. Reluctantly I click on the message and read the contents.

_Sweet nectar shall be poison, laced over thou lips.  
Be warned of Fate, oh Poet of Woe  
Fortune's wheel will turn  
and the Moon shall fall.  
A single tear shall befriend fear and halt to Death._

The words nicked at me uncomfortably but I shake it away and quickly delete the message again. The start of my realization of this living nightmare.


End file.
